Sometimes, and it is worth checking before you pay for anything. Cover varies a great deal between policies, so treat the below as what to look for rather than a promise about yours.
Many buildings insurance policies include damage to underground pipes and drains that you are responsible for, typically where the damage is sudden and accidental, such as a collapse or damage caused by roots or subsidence.
Some policies also include trace and access cover, which pays towards finding the fault and putting right the ground or surface disturbed getting to it. That can be the larger part of the bill.
Gradual wear and tear, general deterioration with age, and lack of maintenance are commonly excluded, insurers tend to draw a line between a pipe that failed and a pipe that simply got old.
Blockages on their own are frequently excluded too, unless they have caused damage.
Evidence. Camera footage showing the fault and where it is, dated, alongside a clear written account of what was found, is far more use to an insurer than a description after the fact.
It is worth getting that before work starts, not after.
Whether underground services or drains are named at all; whether trace and access is included and up to what limit; the excess; and whether the pipe in question is one you are responsible for in the first place.
If you are not sure about that last one, start with our guide on who is responsible for your drain, an insurer will not pay for a repair to a pipe that belongs to the water company.
Speak to your insurer before committing to non-urgent work where you can. Making the situation safe is different from carrying out a full repair.
Add-on home emergency policies sometimes cover an initial call-out to make things safe, but often not the underlying repair. Worth reading what yours actually includes.
Not sure what you are looking at? Liam will tell you straight over the phone whether it is a job that needs someone out, or something that can wait.
Call 07352 554 345