Hull & East Yorkshire
Most sudden leaks from your own plumbing are covered. Slow leaks usually aren't, and water from outside is a separate kind of claim. Here's how it works, with the Hull-specific parts.
Escape of water is what your policy calls water that gets out of your own plumbing, heating, tanks or appliances and damages the house. A pipe that splits in a frost, a cylinder that fails, a washing machine hose that bursts overnight: all sudden and accidental, and normally covered. The label matters because insurers deal with it under different rules from water that comes in from outside.
Your own policy wording decides, but this is the usual pattern.
| Situation | Normally covered? |
|---|---|
| Burst or sudden leak from fixed plumbing | Yes, escape of water |
| Leak from heating, a dishwasher or a washing machine | Yes, escape of water |
| Tracing and accessing the leak (trace and access) | Often, check the limit on your policy |
| Somewhere to stay while the home is dried and repaired | Usually, under the same cover |
| Slow seepage through old grout or perished sealant | No, treated as wear and tear |
| A leak you knew about and left unfixed | No |
| Water from rivers, drains or heavy rain | No, that is flood cover, not escape of water |
Gradual damage. A shower tray that has leaked through tired sealant for a year, or a dishwasher dripping behind the plinth, is usually treated as wear and tear. Regrouting and resealing every few years is the cheap fix.
Water from outside. Anything coming from the Humber, the River Hull, a drain backing up or a cloudburst is a flood claim, not escape of water. In Hull that includes sewer water rising through gullies and toilets in heavy rain, because most of the city's surface water drains into combined sewers. Flood claims often carry a higher excess, so check yours.
No evidence of drying. Insurers often expect professional drying with readings logged. Without them, a damp patch that appears later can be blamed on the drying rather than the leak.
Hull City Council's flood strategy says the cost of insurance in Hull is the highest outside London. Flood Re exists to keep flood cover available for homes like these: if your home was built before 2009, your insurer may pass the flood part of your policy to Flood Re behind the scenes. Homes built from 2009 onwards aren't eligible. After a flood claim, ask whether your insurer offers Build Back Better, which can pay towards resilience measures such as raised sockets or water-resistant plaster during the repair.
To see the flood record for your street, use our postcode flood risk checker.
That record also helps if you sell, when a buyer's surveyor asks about past water damage. For typical prices, see the Hull cost guide, and for your own record keeping, the free claim pack.
Mould starts growing within 24 to 48 hours of a leak. The sooner drying starts, the less damage and the lower the cost.
Call 01482 736003Sudden leaks from your plumbing, heating and appliances are normally covered as escape of water. Slow leaks and wear and tear usually aren't, and water from outside is covered separately as flood.
Water escaping from your own fixed plumbing, heating, tanks or appliances and damaging the property, such as a burst pipe or a split washing machine hose.
Usually not. Damage that built up over weeks or months, like seepage through old sealant, is treated as wear and tear.
No. Water from outside, including drains and sewers backing up in heavy rain, is normally a flood claim. In Hull that's a common cause of flooding.
Many insurers expect it, with moisture readings logged. It gives you evidence the house was dried properly if damp is questioned later.
Ring us and we'll handle the drying and the records.