How water damage can impact your home
Water damage from burst pipes can significantly affect your home. Water can damage parts of your property, such as flooring and cabinetry, leading to costly and inconvenient repairs. It can also damage the stuff inside your home, including clothing, appliances, and irreplaceable items like photos.
Over time, water damage becomes the perfect environment for mould to grow, which can impact your health and that of your family.
How to reduce the risk of water damage at home
Fortunately, reducing the risk of water-related damage at home is simple. Prevention is critical to avoiding repairs - even if your policy covers damage from escape of liquid.
Hiring a professional to conduct regular inspections of plumbed appliances, such as hoses under sinks and taps, can save you money and hassle in the long run. They can detect early signs of leaks and wear and tear before a leak or burst occurs.
The impact of regular maintenance on your insurance
Apia Home and Contents Insurance covers some types of loss or damage related to water leaking, overflowing or bursting. These include:
- any drain fixed pipes, drainage and sewage systems that aren’t part of a shower cubicle wall, floor or base
- baths, sinks, toilets and basins (but not showers), and
- tap spindles.
Apia Contents and Home Insurance doesn’t cover damage caused by:
- wear, tear and gradual deterioration, or
- damage caused by or to a leaking shower floor or base.
So regular checks mean that you’re more likely to catch those types of hose failure that won’t be covered, and avoid an incident for which you’re unable to claim.
For more details on Apia’s Home and Contents Insurance coverage, refer to the PDS .
The risk of damage from flexi-hoses
What are flexi-hoses?
Flexible braided hoses, or flexi-hoses, are commonly used in plumbing. They’re a rubber hose reinforced externally with stainless steel webbing and fitted with clamped stainless steel fittings on both ends.
They’re used in a lot of Australian bathrooms and kitchens because of their flexibility, low cost, and ease of installation. You can usually find flexi-hoses connecting taps and other fittings to the main water supply.
What are the risks presented by flexi-hoses?
Flexi-hoses can leak or burst due to:
- incorrect installation, leading to a kink or crimp in the hose, and/or
- gradual wear and tear associated with ageing.
This sort of damage occurs very often across Australia. During 2022, 8.1% of water claims involved a flexible hose, accounting for 18.2% of our total costs spent on Escape of Liquid claims*.
How can I reduce my risk of damage from burst flexi-hoses?
Regular checks are the best approach. The corrosion that results in burst hoses usually occurs gradually, leaving visible characteristics of spot discolouration.
Hiring a licensed plumber to conduct inspections can be very helpful. They will be able to pick up any signs of corrosion and replace the flexi-hoses. They’ll also offer assurance that the installation is correct, with no kinks or crimps, for peace of mind.
What should I do if water damage occurs in my home?
If you’re an Apia Home Insurance customer and your home has been damaged, lodge a claim immediately.
If you want to confirm if the damage is covered in your premium or want to discuss your options, get in touch .
Not an Apia Home Insurance customer? Learn more about our options to know if they’re right for you.
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*Sourced from claims data for all Suncorp Group insurance brands. Based on claims made for escape of liquid damage in 2022.
Australian Pensioners Insurance Agency Pty Ltd (Apia) ABN 14 099 650 996 AR 239591 is an authorised representative of AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 AFSL 230859, the product issuer. Read the Product Disclosure Statement before buying this insurance. The Target Market Determination is also available. The advice has been prepared without taking into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs, so you should consider whether it is appropriate for you before acting on it.
The information is intended to be of general nature only. Subject to any rights you may have under any law, we do not accept any legal responsibility for any loss or damage, including loss of business or profits or any other indirect loss, incurred as a result of reliance upon the information. Please make your own enquiries.
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