Insurance question regarding problem for flooded flat

The Irish Times Thursday edition has their well known property section in it. It is still a most interesting read, but it is shame there are no longer colour photos on the front page. This is possibly due to the fact that it used to be an entirely separate section and now it is part of the Business + Technology and Sports Thursday part of the paper.

However the "Property Clinic" Advice page is one area I tend to look at in particular.

The 21st June 2012 edition had a head line "Why won't insurance pay for flooded flat?"

Question asked: When my washing machine broke recently water escaped from it and flooded my apartment, ruining almost everything. I know from my service charge statement that our building is insured but my management agent is telling me that it doesn’t cover my apartment.  When my neighbour’s apartment was flooded last year, because of a leaking pipe, the management company’s insurance paid out for that. I don’t really understand what the difference is with my case and why they wont pay. It is going to cost a fortune. 

The reply by Paul Mooney who is a member of the Property and Facilities Management Professional Group of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland replied  that " Apartment-block multi-unit developments will have a block policy of insurance that will cover the structure, fixtures and fittings against normal risks. These usually include “water or oil escaping from a fixed water or heating installation or domestic appliance” together with, freezing of a fixed water or heating installation, riot and civil commotion, ground heave or subsidence, fire, storm and many more insurable risks.

The policy will not cover the individual contents of owners or residents of the individual apartments such as carpets, appliances, curtains, sofas and so on, but will cover fixtures and fittings such as plasterboard, kitchen fittings, bathroom fittings, damage to decoration and, quite often, timber floors." Read the rest of the article on line here

In England where I have been in the letting business for over thirty years, the situation is very similar. You need to make sure that you have contents insurance to cover the carpets curtains, furniture and personal equipment like TVs, clothing etc. If you own the flat then it is essential that you do have contents insurance in case something like this happens. You will normally find that the block management company's insurance will cover the structure as outlined in Paul Mooney's reply above.

In England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland if the property is let the Landlord must be tjhe one who insures his / her possesions like cirtains and carpets and some companies like HomeLet offer limited landlord contents insurance. Tenants should ensure their own belongings and if they have brought their own furniture. rugs and similar items into the property they must insure these. The landlord's insurance will not cover their posessions  and vica versa. Too many tenants tend to think, insurance for our stuff is a waste of money, I thought it was covered by the landlord and who is going to pay for my computer that has just been stolen.

Washing machines in apartments do tend to leak from time to time, sometimes the machine will have been moved out and the rubber drainage hose becomes bent or comes out of the drainage pipe. It can be very frustrating if this happens toyou from the apartment upstairs. It all takes a while to dry out and you have the inconvenience of assessors and workmen.  Even with tiled kitchen and bathroom floors it can still seep in the concrete below and where there has been a conversion and the floors are wooden...I won't go there.

Thirty + years ago as a letting agent in southern England, there were not so many property rentals that had washing machines. It was normally the more expensive type of property. The idea soon caught on and now apart from washing machines many apartments are equipped with another machine that can have leaking problems....the dishwasher.

If you live in an appartment, whenever possible try and use the washing machine when you are physically in the place in case there is a problem, although it understandable why many people will want to set it off when they go out or go to work  as the kitchen will often form part of the living area as in the image on the left and you can't watch TV with the noise of the washing machine in the foreground.