Water pipes and additional insurances - any experiences good or bad?

No experience but will be interested in replies as the same offer is sitting on my kitchen table while I ponder. The problem with it as far as I can see is drains. We share ours with next door and the house after. They don't cover shared drains. Also we don't have a water tank and boiler cover isn't included so wondering if it's worth it for us.

What does your house insurance policy cover?
My elderly neighbour had a pipe problem last year, the bill arrived and she was very worried.
I told her to check her policy: she was covered for this problem.

Kissngate it won't be for you in the long term if you share drains - but if it's the 50p a month offer, it may be worth you going for it in case of other problems?

We had a drip from our kitchen ceiling that was covered - some muppet when nailing the floorboard in the bedroom above had hit a pipe. Goodness knows how long it had taken as the floorboards had certainly not been 'nailed' for years! It had been so slow it had gradually formed a puddle before finally seeping through.

MerylStreep Thanks for the suggestion - isn't it strange that we seem to only think of the house insurance for big problems I will check it out!

You may find that your house insurance covers damage to water pipes and drains by an ‘insured risk’ but in many cases the problem will arise simply through age. How old are the pipes and drains serving your house likely to be? The escalating cost of the policy you’re talking about seems steep. Personally I wouldn’t bother with insurance but if you want cover then I would certainly shop around.

We took out a 2 year fixed Insurance with Saga. It included emergency plumbing and electric cover as an add on. We had to call on this service for a leaking toilet in the first year and it took two visits to resolve and the plumber came from over 50 miles away. When it was time for the second year renewal last November I expected to pay extra but the premium which I think is very reasonable has stayed the same. I have just looked at the home emergency booklet and it appears to cover drains on our property.
It does not cover boiler breakdowns

Does it cover water supply pipes?

GSM Now that was what I was looking for in the booklet - not sure.
I have always looked at the 50p a month offers and rejected them as the rise so much in the second year.
I try to keep a running monthly save to cover emergencies but might be harder now energy bills are going sky high.

I work on the basis that it's very unlikely to happen unless your house is pretty ancient, which mine isn't. I reckon you might be better off banking the premiums.

Four I have been with Homeserve since they started. My husband looked into and decided to try it. 20+ years over the that time they have saved us a fortune. And had peace of mind especially since my husband died. You can call them out 24/ 7 everyday of the year.

I have heating and plumbing cover which covers all the pipes on my property,radiators and boiler. If you have a dripping tap they give you new tap. In my old house had 3 mixer taps inn my kitchen over time. Plus lots more work done .

Since I moved here the sewer pipe on my property broke. But it was covered by my policy. 4 visits with the camera to find the problem . Then a team of 4 men spend all day here. They had to dig up part of my drive. A sewage tanker came to clear it out before they replaced the pipe. The drive was restored to normal when the job was done.

I pay a bit extra to have no excess. Included in my policy is a yearly boiler service. They came out 6 times because my boiler was making a funny noise before they found the problem. Would have costs thousands all the work I have had done. All the engineers are fully trained friendly and polite and all parts and labour are covered.

I know some people don't like paying out each month for something they think they won't use. But I wouldn't be without Homeserve. They do electric cover as well but I have an excellent electrician who is reasonable.

.But I never have to worry about my heating and plumbing and so I always have peace of mind.

Thanks everyone for all the comments - having had a brief look at our home insurance it looks like we have plenty of cover anyway? We'll look into it properly as there's no point in paying twice. We will take into your consideration your comments Whiff about the immediate attendance service you have experienced as insurance companies are notorious for taking their time! Hopefully we won't need it but peace of mind is a wonderful feeling!

I very much doubt that your home insurance covers you for breakage of external water supply pipes and drains due to age. Do have another look.

Germanshepherdsmum

I work on the basis that it's very unlikely to happen unless your house is pretty ancient, which mine isn't. I reckon you might be better off banking the premiums.

I have an American friend who always claims that you should only buy insurance if you are liable to be bankrupted by the cost of not having it, otherwise put the money in savings account for a rainy day. I admit though that the market is somewhat different there.

Personally, in addition to home/contents, the only insurance we have is boiler insurance and that covers the cost of a yearly service. Probably the dictum above would save us money but it’s this issue that we’re willing to pay for for peace of mind.

Same here. External water pipes and drains are so unlikely to break.