Does Home Insurance Cover A Leak From My Wet-room Shower?

Caeva O'Callaghan | September 21st, 2021

Wet rooms and bathrooms are great spaces to unwind and relax. But what if yours springs a leak – will your home insurance cover it?

Yes. If your wet room springs a leak, your home insurance will cover you for the damage the leaking water caused as well as cover for a limited amount for trace and access if required.

As with any other part of your home, you will need to maintain it properly for your insurance to be valid. If you neglect routine home maintenance your claim will not be successful.

In this article, we’ll cover questions such as:

• Does having a wet room affect my home insurance?
• What do I do if my builder fails to install my wet room properly?
• What risks are there with installing a wet room?

As with any other part of your buildings cover, your wet room shower has cover against accidental damage. This will also include damage from leaks or escaping water.

Does having a wet room affect my home insurance?

Technically speaking, a wet room is no different than a bathroom when it comes to insurance. If you’re converting a bathroom into a wet room, it’s probably best to tell your home insurance just to be on the safe side.

But if you move into a house with a pre-existing wet room, you needn’t worry as the insurance for your wet room isn’t going to be any more or less than if you had a traditional bathroom in its place.

But if you’re planning on adding a brand new wet room where no bathroom existed before, you certainly have to tell your home insurance about it. A major alteration like this will be treated as a fixture of the property: essentially, you are extending your home, so it needs to be covered by your buildings insurance.

Before you start building work, make sure to let your insurer know so your policy can be updated and keep you covered.

Problems arise only when your wet room springs a leak. Water damage is one of the most common home insurance claim types in Ireland, and the damage and stress it can cause cannot be underestimated.

What do I do if my builder fails to install my wet room properly?

If your bathroom or wet room springs a leak, it’s important to look for the underlying cause. Sometimes, these things happen – bathrooms are under a particular amount of wear and tear in a house, and insurance companies understand that sometimes things just go wrong.

Aside from the issue of routine maintenance and sheer bad luck, sometimes the problem is down to the builder or plumber who installed it.

In this case, you need to talk to the plumber responsible. If they are reputable, they’ll fix the problem at no extra cost.

But if that doesn’t work, you need to complain to the trade body or company they belong to. If you purchased your house after the bathroom was installed, it might take a little extra work to track them down. If you employed them yourself, you should have ensured they could be held accountable to a higher body if needed.

If all else fails, you can take the plumber to court. This is a last resort for everyone involved, but sometimes it needs to happen. Keep records and take photographs of the job as it progresses that you can present as evidence.

What risks are there with installing a wet room?

If you leave your taps running, or if a pipe bursts, a shower goes haywire or your plumbing springs a leak, this should all be covered by your home insurance.

A wet room, like any bathroom, can spring a leak that quickly turns to havoc for your building’s structure and your possessions. If the leak is small and easily fixed, a couple of hours with the mop will prevent having to make a claim.

However, you’ll have to say goodbye to your no-claims bonus if you need to pay for ruined flooring, peeling wallpaper, new electrical wiring or equipment like dehumidifiers or carpet cleaners.

Most buildings and contents home insurance policies won’t cover you for damage caused by damp and condensation. This is why you need to attend to leaks as soon as possible before they cause worse damage to your home.

As a reminder, insurance does not protect against negligence. As long as you take responsibility for your property and maintain it, your cover will be valid.

Confused about home insurance? Give us a call today between8.30am and 5.30pm on 0818 224433 or 042 9359051.