water leak insurance advice please

[Penfold1978]

a bit of history first, a few years back the shower developed a leak into the hall way. that was fixed and there is just wallpaper damage which is still there. my mum tried to claim but they rejected it. she told them to piss off and changed companies. afaik she has never claimed with this new company.
about a year and a half ago the inlet pipe into the toilet developed a leak. unfortunately it was a few days before this got fixed and this created more water damage in a different part of hall, just above the stairs. there was no claim put in and no work has been done in the hallway since.

on wednesday the toilet developed another leak and this came through in the same place in the hall as the last one.
my sister in law rang a plumber who promised to be out thursday but never showed up.
i rang one this morning and he came and spent the worst 3 hours of his life (his words)
apart from the porcelain he essentialy gave us a new toilet, right down to the flush handle. he spent the best part of 2 hours trying to remove 2 bolts from the sides of the hole that feeds the pan.

we joked it would have cheaper to install a new toilet. when he turned the water on the leak was still there, turns out there is a hairline fracture at the back of the pan somewhere. anyway he will be back tomorrow with a new toilet.

half an hour after he went part of the ceiling finally came down in the hall, my question is how do go about making a successful claim? obviously we dont mention the last leak and make out all the damage was from this the current leak im willing to not bother about the plumbers costs but the hall really needs sorting.

any advice greatly appreciated.

[Stooo]

Take lots of pictures and have a written diary of everything.

[Lady Murasaki]

Read the small print in the insurance policy document, particularly what it says about leaks.

[Snookerballs]

Probably worth biting the bullet , and not bother with an Insurance Claim, you will end up with more hassle and your excess premium will increase , dont expect that the hallway will be completly redecorated under the Insurance claim , the hole filled amd made good is about the limit .

[Penfold1978]

^^^ thats basically what the plumber said. cheers anyway.

[xtras1]

a bit of history first, a few years back the shower developed a leak into the hall way. that was fixed and there is just wallpaper damage which is still there. my mum tried to claim but they rejected it. she told them to piss off and changed companies. afaik she has never claimed with this new company.
about a year and a half ago the inlet pipe into the toilet developed a leak. unfortunately it was a few days before this got fixed and this created more water damage in a different part of hall, just above the stairs. there was no claim put in and no work has been done in the hallway since.

on wednesday the toilet developed another leak and this came through in the same place in the hall as the last one.
my sister in law rang a plumber who promised to be out thursday but never showed up.
i rang one this morning and he came and spent the worst 3 hours of his life (his words)
apart from the porcelain he essentialy gave us a new toilet, right down to the flush handle. he spent the best part of 2 hours trying to remove 2 bolts from the sides of the hole that feeds the pan.

we joked it would have cheaper to install a new toilet. when he turned the water on the leak was still there, turns out there is a hairline fracture at the back of the pan somewhere. anyway he will be back tomorrow with a new toilet.

half an hour after he went part of the ceiling finally came down in the hall, my question is how do go about making a successful claim? obviously we dont mention the last leak and make out all the damage was from this the current leak im willing to not bother about the plumbers costs but the hall really needs sorting.

any advice greatly appreciated.

what a nightmare!

no advice i'm afraid.. but hope you get it sorted.

[ArchieG]

I'm nearly finished installing a new bathroom after another kind of water leak, the supply pipe. I had to take up the downstairs bathroom floor, including removing the bog. We bought a new one, modern bogs are impossible to repair/reinstall. We didn't make a claim, it's only worth doing that if your home is gutted by fire or some such. The good bit, for those of you on water meters, is that leaks outside your property affecting your water consumption, ie anything big enough to be worth repairing, makes you eligible for a refund on your water bill. So, bear that in mind for external leaks. Internal ones are just a dribble, after all a whole bathful of water is only about 25p worth. In short, I agree with the plumber, get it patched up and pay, it's cheaper in the long run.