Insurance companies forking out for plumbing

[Puddle]

Is the use of plastic pipe and push fittings behind this ?

[video]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-2054108/Damage-leaky-pipes-costing-households-burglary.html[/video]

 

[dontknowitall]

I don't think so although it must be behind some of the claims. All bar one burst pipe I've attended has been in copper.

I think it's more a matter of people not looking after their houses properly, for example not having a small drip attended to and then they realise after a few months that it's caused much more damage. Doesn't matter, that's why we have insurance.

The pipes in our house aren't lagged but in the last two winters we made sure the loft didn't go below freezing. (We opened the hatch for a month or so.) I think many people last winter didn't take the extreme low temperatures we had. In the past the sun the next day has warmed up rooves (roofs?) so any ice forming within the pipework melted. Last winter any ice couldn't thaw out during the day unless the heating was on but many turned their heating off during the day to save money.

I've also found customers complaining to me when I spot potential danger areas. The worst was when I went to attend an electric shower. Although not GasSafe I spotted a gas boiler in a loft that was leaking and asked tenant about it. They gave a small history of problems (including last winter). I phoned the landlord about the shower and when I started talking about the boiler he launched a sidewinder before I'd got anywhere. (Walked out of the whole job in the end).

There's a huge culture of "Oh, the insurance will pay", "The state gives benefits" and so on. The personal responsibility (and, in this case, thinking about potential problems in your own home) has left many people these days.

 

[Veggie Dave]

I think it's more likely what dontknowitall said about routine maintenance (especially with the harsh winters we seem to be having these days) and also the increasing reliance on DIY repairs and installs.

 

[Best]

Probably is a lot to do with owners neglecting the plumbing/heating systems in their house. If they had cared a little about their plumbing or used a bit of common sense much of the problems wouldn't exist. Was extreme winter though, and froze pipes that had been in for years, to be fair. Would be great if insurance companies would not cover total neglect or botched diy jobs, where possible. Since the time plastic pipe & push fittings became prevalent I have seen & heard of numerous problems like fittings coming off.

 

[< 0.004 = :-)]

12 weekers causing a bit of devestation then j/k

 

[WaterTight]

Everyone seems to be presuming this is an unexplained increase that needs to be explained. Nowhere in the article does it say that this is significantly different to any other year. It's much more likely that two historically close statistic just swithced places. And even if it was a large leap that doesn't mean that understanding it is the motivation behind the story. The newspapers are in the business of creating stories. Reports come out every day - and they make quick, easy story-fodder. It's long been understood to be far easier than finding real stories. It might have even been fed to them by Legal and General hoping to prompt some caution.

I've personally had about three attempts at getting something in the news in the past and on every occasion I've been stunned by how they reported everything - including all the lies and rubbish - without checking a word. And in the time honoured remarks of someone who realises they've just taken everything a little too seriously: Rant over.

 

[tamz]

Maybe insurance companies are the way to regulate the trade.
Trade bodies have been lobbying the Government for years to try to get compulsory registration of plumbers but the government are not interested and it will never happen.
Insurance companies could sort that at a stroke by insisting any plumbing work must be done by a registered plumber or no insurance cover.


I liked this quote from the mail comments

"Its also easier to pretend that you have a burst pipe rather than to manufacture a 'burglary"

That is about right too.

 

[< 0.004 = :-)]

folk wanting to save a few quid getting an eastern european train driver calling himself a multi trader to do their bathrooms has no doubt had an impact on claims as well. some off the stuff they have been up to is , unbelievable till you see it to be honest.

 

[Best]

Why should anyone who is careful about their plumbing pay the same premiums as their neighbour who has a neglected or DIY mess of a job, & then claims for a whole house makeover because something went wrong? I think, at the very least each home should be assessed.

 

[tamz]

folk wanting to save a few quid getting an eastern european train driver calling himself a multi trader to do their bathrooms has no doubt had an impact on claims as well. some off the stuff they have been up to is , unbelievable till you see it to be honest.

I saw an example of this first hand yesterday when i was out pricing a boiler swap job. The girl was in tears when i asked her about the state of her "new" bathroom.
Fortunately i am a good sympathetic listener when there is a pound to be made :lol:

 

[WaterTight]

You're all heart Tamz.

 

[tamz]

You're all heart Tamz.

I felt sorry for her.
Got the job though :wink:

 

[jase158]

most leaks I get and go to are from plastic fittings on pipes. solder fittings only leak, 1 in a hundred. plastic is more like 1 in every 10.

 

[jase158]

I think this is a way to warn people that home insurance will increase soon.

"why is my insurance so high" "haven't you heard on the news that leaks are the biggest cause of claims"

with burglaries, you have to live in a high risk area to pay more, but everybody has water, so everybody is at risk of having a leak, so everybody has to pay more for their insurance.

 

[REDSAW]

racketeers all of them.
pay the money and they moan if they have to pay some back.

they have not confirmed they still made a shed load of profits last year did they?.

 

[armourer]

Got to agree with RedSaw this is more of an excuse why the insurance premiums must go up that a story about bad plumbing.

 

[Gray0689]

I don't think so although it must be behind some of the claims. All bar one burst pipe I've attended has been in copper.

I think it's more a matter of people not looking after their houses properly, for example not having a small drip attended to and then they realise after a few months that it's caused much more damage. Doesn't matter, that's why we have insurance.

The pipes in our house aren't lagged but in the last two winters we made sure the loft didn't go below freezing. (We opened the hatch for a month or so.) I think many people last winter didn't take the extreme low temperatures we had. In the past the sun the next day has warmed up rooves (roofs?) so any ice forming within the pipework melted. Last winter any ice couldn't thaw out during the day unless the heating was on but many turned their heating off during the day to save money.

I've also found customers complaining to me when I spot potential danger areas. The worst was when I went to attend an electric shower. Although not GasSafe I spotted a gas boiler in a loft that was leaking and asked tenant about it. They gave a small history of problems (including last winter). I phoned the landlord about the shower and when I started talking about the boiler he launched a sidewinder before I'd got anywhere. (Walked out of the whole job in the end).

There's a huge culture of "Oh, the insurance will pay", "The state gives benefits" and so on. The personal responsibility (and, in this case, thinking about potential problems in your own home) has left many people these days.

Why would you not lag your own pipes in roofspace lol

 

[stevetheplumber]

our household insurance has gone up to cover the high risk of terrorism since the police found a terrorist group living in the same borough so obviously were high risk now cos bomber always blow themselves up at home
using this logic weve had bombs on buses and tubes and planes so yep its every one at risk so up the premiums nation wide i hate insurance companies with a vengance
its their reluctance to pay out that leads to fraudulent claims and inflated prices

 

[dontknowitall]

Why would you not lag your own pipes in roofspace lol

Lagging does not prevent pipe freezing, as I'm sure you know and I do sometimes lag pipes, especially outside where frost will form on the lagging rather than the pipe.

However, I'm of the opinion that if pipes in the loft freeze they're less likely to split if they thaw out quickly because the heat has to go through the insulation of the lagging first. They are more at risk of freezing when not lagged but if the cold has gone through the lagging and the water's started to freeze they will take longer to thaw out.

I went to three properties last winter and all the pipe repairs had to be done on the lagged parts of the pipes and there was no damage (or leak) on the bare pipes.

Rather different theory to most plumbers I admit, but it's served me well so far and I've found one or two others who have started to do this as well.

 

[Puddle]

Lagging does not prevent pipe freezing, as I'm sure you know and I do sometimes lag pipes, especially outside where frost will form on the lagging rather than the pipe.

However, I'm of the opinion that if pipes in the loft freeze they're less likely to split if they thaw out quickly because the heat has to go through the insulation of the lagging first. They are more at risk of freezing when not lagged but if the cold has gone through the lagging and the water's started to freeze they will take longer to thaw out.

I went to three properties last winter and all the pipe repairs had to be done on the lagged parts of the pipes and there was no damage (or leak) on the bare pipes.

Rather different theory to most plumbers I admit, but it's served me well so far and I've found one or two others who have started to do this as well.

Was under the impression that a pipe splits or fitting pops when the water has no were to expand in the pipework and thus expands outwards causing damage, (this is why you found lagged pipework with splits and un-lagged with non ,the water freezes in the un-lagged pipework first and then spreads along to the lagged pipework, which freezes last with no were to expand)thus once this has happened ,does not matter how quick it thaws out, just leak waiting to happen

But Dkit,I do not care, I like the way you tried to wiggle out of it!!!........

Now get ya bum up those steps into roof and start lagging and don’t come down till done,wasting heat into a loft in these high efficiency times ,do not know how youcan sleep at night ................................................................. with all those buckets on the bed !!



:jester::smartass2:

 

[dontknowitall]

Must admit I'd not thought about the waste of heat from the pipes (stupid I know) but hence my name I suppose. Also I blame these fast track courses as the process of how the ice forms was never explained to me. Many thanks for that and I'll alter my methods! (Luckily I've not done much loft work but where I've put long runs in I have lagged - it's just the smaller sections that I've left bare.)