Are underground pipes covered by home insurance? Your guide

You know your home insurance protects your building and its contents, but it’s natural to wonder about the parts of your home you can’t see – like the tanks, cables, drains, and underground pipes. So, are underground pipes covered by home insurance? 

Damaged or blocked pipes can leave you without essential services and create a potential health hazard. Plus, although insurance claims for underground pipes are quite rare, the cost of uncovering the problem and putting your home back together makes them extremely expensive. 

Here, we look at your legal position and the scenarios where your insurer could help you cover the costs.

Does house insurance cover underground pipes as standard?

Home insurance and building insurance can pay to repair your home if it’s damaged by fire, storms, or floods. Contents insurance will also cover your household items in the event that they’re stolen. 

Home insurance tends to cover: 

• The structure of your home and the permanent fixtures and fittings
• Your possessions inside your home
• Living expenses if the damage makes it unsafe to stay in your home.

Read more: What does home insurance cover?

The good news is that home insurance usually covers services, including the underground pipes that carry water, gas, and sewage. So if you’re wondering, “does building insurance cover water supply pipes?”, the answer is yes, it usually does.

If the pipes cross your property, it’s your legal responsibility (or your landlord’s, if you’re renting) to look after them. You’ll also be responsible for any drains on your property. Because of this, it makes sense for your home insurance to protect you from the potential costs of damage or blockages.

This being said, not all insurance policies will cover underground pipes as standard. For some, it’s an insurance add-on you pay for on top of your main policy. 

It’s important to check the terms and conditions of your insurance policy and ask your insurer’s customer service department for clarification if you’re unsure.

How does home insurance protect underground pipes?

If your home insurance covers the underground pipes inside the boundaries of your property, you might be able to make an insurance claim for what’s called “escape of water”. This covers damage from flooding or subsidence caused by a damaged pipe, as opposed to “ingress of water”, which would cover, for example, a leaking roof. 

If there’s an issue with the pipes, you’ll probably rely on several different clauses of your home insurance policy to have the problem fixed. 

If you have a “trace and access” clause, this can pay to find the issue and either dig up your garden or break through your wall to properly assess it. Then, you’ll likely turn to the building insurance element of your policy to repair the pipe itself and fix any subsidence. Then, it could be your contents insurance that pays to replace any furniture and carpeting that was damaged by a flood inside. 

Depending on the terms of your insurance contract, this system could mean you pay for certain aspects of the repair process from your own pocket. 

It’s important to make sure you understand exactly what your insurer could cover in the event of a broken pipe so you can find the level of cover you’re comfortable with.

What plumbing does home insurance cover?

Now, let’s look at some different scenarios where you could need insurance coverage for an underground pipe.

Accidental pipe damage

Imagine you’re doing some landscaping work in your garden, and the small digger you hired for the day hits the water pipe that serves your house. In this case, as long as your home insurance includes underground pipes, you could make a claim because the damage was not intentional. 

Damage from tree roots

Tree roots are behind a lot of insurance claims concerning underground pipes. They can grow into the pipes, causing breaks or blockages that mean sections need to be cleared or replaced. 

In the majority of cases, pipe issues caused by tree roots are also covered by home insurance. 

Damage caused by subsidence

Subsidence is a serious problem for any homeowner, not least because the shifting ground can damage the service lines that run to your house. Similar issues can also arise if there’s a landslip on or near your property, or after a flood. Your home insurance should cover pipe damage caused by subsidence. Plus, if a burst pipe causes subsidence, you should be able to make a claim to put things right.

Scenarios where home insurance won’t pay out for damaged pipes

Although home insurance should cover the costs of underground pipe repairs where the damage was accidental, there are several scenarios where your insurer probably won’t pay out. 

• Wear and tear, including gradual corrosion. If your pipe breaks because it’s old and hasn’t been maintained, or if it rusts through over time, home insurance won’t cover the costs. In the eyes of the insurer, it's the homeowner’s job to inspect and maintain the underground pipes to prevent smaller issues from turning into big ones. 

• Improper use. If a pipe is blocked or broken because someone has, for example, flushed sanitary products or poured cooking oil down the sink, it’s classed as “improper use”. In this case, you’ll be left to cover the cost of the repairs yourself. 

• Pests. If pests (like rats) damage your underground pipes, standard home insurance likely won’t pay for the fix.

• Poor workmanship. If the pipe wasn’t fitted properly, if the line was badly designed, or if the work was shoddy (for example, the pipe was laid too flat and the water backs up, or if a joint wasn’t sealed), your home insurance won’t cover the costs of putting it right.

• Routine maintenance. While it’s your job as the homeowner to maintain the pipes, insurance doesn’t cover the cost of hiring someone to inspect them and make those minor repairs. 

It’s very important to remember that your insurer must inspect the pipe before it’s mended. You can also invalidate your insurance if you attempt to repair the pipe by yourself. In fact, the financial ombudsman lists this as one of the most common reasons for an insurance claim of this type to be rejected.

Home emergency cover for underground pipes

Home insurance usually covers the underground services that keep your home running. But if you want to be doubly sure you’re protected, it can be worth looking into dedicated insurance for underground water pipes. Home emergency cover can help you here. 

Home emergency cover is an extra layer of protection that deals with situations that need an immediate fix — like broken boilers, calling emergency locksmiths, or repairing burst pipes. Some insurance policies cover home emergencies as standard, while others offer it as an add-on for extra peace of mind.

How to make an insurance claim if you have a broken pipe

If there’s a problem with the pipes that service your home, you’ll first need to establish whether it’s happening inside your property line (in which case, you can contact your insurer) or at street level (when it’s best to contact the water company). 

If it’s a pipe you’re responsible for, your first step is to tell your insurer there’s a problem. They might ask you to contact a trace and access company from their approved list and arrange an appointment for the pipe to be assessed. This company can expose the damage and do an inspection. They’ll list their findings in a report and send it to your insurer. 

After this, the root cause can be repaired, and you can get quotes for jobs like plastering, flooring, and decorating as the “reinstatement” phase. After the work is complete, your insurer can either reimburse you for the costs or pay the tradespeople directly. 

Remember that if you regularly clean and inspect your drains and pipes, you might be able to prevent small issues — like a slow drain — from turning into larger ones like a complete blockage. Small changes like drain guards, composting food waste, and putting cooking oil in the bin can all make a difference to the condition of your underground pipes. 

Home insurance and underground pipes: Quick summary 

If there’s an underground pipe on your property, there’s a very high chance you have the legal responsibility to maintain it. Your home insurance is likely to pick up some of the costs if a pipe was damaged accidentally, by tree roots, or by subsidence, but it’s good to know exactly what you’re covered for, as the damage may need to be repaired in several stages. 

Because of the high cost of exposing broken pipes, fixing the potentially extensive damage, and putting a home right again, these claims can be some of the most expensive ones that insurers deal with, with costs easily running into the thousands. 

Ready to find home insurance that covers water supply pipes? Contact the team at Howden today for a personalised quote. 

Also read

• Is the landlord or tenant responsible for building insurance?
• What’s the average home insurance cost?
• How do you get insurance when you buy a new-build home?

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