Recently we had a blocked waste water pipe that carried water away from our kitchen (sink & dishwasher) it was concealed behind the fitted kitchen and in the next room (toilet) the same pipe was boxed in. (the pipe ran the width of our house)
To cut a long story short ,due to the blockage the pipe split on the joint and had been leaking(unknown to us)for some time,eventually,it soaked through the ceiling boards and last Sunday the dishwasher kindly poured its water discharge via the damaged pipe into the room below bringing down part of the ceiling below.
We called in a builder on the Sunday afternoon to make good emergency repairs and discover the source of the leak to which he had to smash the tiles covering the boxed pipework in the bathroom to access the boxed in pipe.
We contacted RSA on the Monday morning to lodge our claim......beware
They say leaking internal pipes are WEAR AND TEAR and are not covered in buildings insurance ,on page 16 of their booklet they have a vague exclusion statement which they claim covers this incident
"Any loss ,damage,liabiliy,cost or expense of any kind caused by resulting from wear and tear,depreciation,corrosion,rusting,damp,insects,vermin,fungus,condensation,fading,frost or anything that happens gradually,including the renovation or restoration caused or any consequential loss.
I explained that it was not wear and tear but pressure due to the blockage put the plastic waste pipe joint under pressure resulting in the leakage and damage,not only will they not pay fro the pipe to be repaired or renewed they refuse to pay for the cost of reboxing in the pipe and tiling !!
Be warned of ROYAL AND SUN ALLIANCE .