Slab leak - insurance? (Austin, Mansfield: attorney, house, contractor)

[kiacook]

So, I've been having some issues with walls separating from the ceiling. Hired a structural engineer who suggested I get a plumber out to do hydrostatic testing. The plumber found at 2 breaks/leaks under the slab leading to the sewer. There are potentially 2 more. They will have to tunnel under the foundation for one and probably jackhammer the floor for the other (in the bathroom).

I have All State home insurance and my "agent" says she is leaning toward it not being covered because these are "slow" leaks and my insurance covers "sudden, accidental" damage - like something that causes flooding. That seems like nonsense to me - what should I do? It seems like others have had the tunneling and fixing of pipes covered. Do I have crappy insurance??

[df175]

Sounds like general building deterioration and wear and tear to me, similar to your roof gradually leaking after 20+ years.

[TexasHorseLady]

When we had a similar leak (had to jackhammer the bedroom floor), our insurance policy covered the leak and restoring the floor. It would NOT cover rerouting the kitchen drain line outside and burying it, which we preferred because we looked at where the drain lines in the slab were and realized we could be looking at the same thing in the hallway in six months in a 50 year old house). So we paid for that ourselves. Putting drain lines in slabs is just stupid, as far as I'm concerned, which is one reason I now live in a pier and beam house.

I forget who our insurer was at the time - that was over 20 years ago. The drain lines have worked fine ever since.

[atxcio]

Doesn't sound like general building deterioration and wear and tear to me. Sounds like the insurance agent is trying to persuade the OP not to make a claim. I'd like to see what others have to say, but I would definitely document everything and make it clear that you are taking action (ie, not letting the problem continue knowingly). Talk to someone who can repair the damage and ask them about making an insurance claim; maybe even talk to your lender, but get some professional advice. I'm not sure what the repairs will cost, but it sounds high.

Bottom line, you can always make a claim. They may try very hard to deny it, and may be successful. But now that you know about it, it's probably making your position worse if you let it go on knowingly.

[kiacook]

Thanks all. Yep, I'm going to get the stuff fixed regardless (hope it's not TOO EXPENSIVE) because I plan to live here a long time and it seems to have been affecting my foundation, but I would like my insurance company to cover what they should cover. The rep I've spoken to has said a couple of times "I'm not going to submit a claim yet..." so I don't know if she's trying to "save" from submitting a claim for something that's not covered or trying to keep from submitting a claim for something that is... hmmm.

[ITO]

A leak is a leak and a busted pipe is busted pipe.

File on it.

This exact thing happened to my grandmother's house, that was a really nasty fix and I will never try that again.

You may also need to have the house leveled and they will be busting up the slab anyway for that so maybe look for a contractor who will do both?

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by kiacook

So, I've been having some issues with walls separating from the ceiling. Hired a structural engineer who suggested I get a plumber out to do hydrostatic testing. The plumber found at 2 breaks/leaks under the slab leading to the sewer. There are potentially 2 more. They will have to tunnel under the foundation for one and probably jackhammer the floor for the other (in the bathroom).

I have All State home insurance and my "agent" says she is leaning toward it not being covered because these are "slow" leaks and my insurance covers "sudden, accidental" damage - like something that causes flooding. That seems like nonsense to me - what should I do? It seems like others have had the tunneling and fixing of pipes covered. Do I have crappy insurance??

As for your insurance policy they can be very confusing. The repairs can be a high dollar endeavor and it may well be worth contacting a Public Insurance Adjuster (PIA). These adjusters specialize in helping consumers wade through the policy hype and get what they are entitles to as far as their policy coverage. The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI Texas Department of Insurance) licenses PIA's but unfortunately their site is significantly lacking in a search function for them. You can Google search for Public Insurance Adjuster and start there.

As for repairing the pipes by "tunneling" under the foundation you need to be very careful with this method! Austin has a lot of rock formations which might make this difficult but we'll expect that your home is sitting on soil. The soils are compacted, or should have been, to properly support the weight of the foundation and to prevent soil shifting under it. If they remove dirt in a "tunneling" action they MUST compact the soils properly when they return it. If not this can open you up to a host of other potential problems later. Properly compacting it is very labor intensive under a "tunneling" situation which means a higher repair bill which many repair companies don't want to quote you as they will lose the business. As a result many times recompacting the soil is not properly performed and you don't know about it until later down the road. The Engineer you hired can best explain your particular repair needs, should be specifying recompaction in the repair work, and you may be able to hire the Engineer to ensure the job is being properly performed.

There are other methods that can be used to repair this problem other than hammering the slab and/or tunneling. Depending on the break location you might be able to use a "Blowout" method where they ram a replacement pipe through the existing one as a guide. This is generally performed with minimal disruption of the slab when possible. There are more methods than just this one and any good plumber can provide those options. They are going to cost a little more but can save potential future foundation issues.

Good luck and let us know how it progresses so others can learn from it.

[CarnivalGal]

I live on one of the highest points in Steiner Ranch. Mansfield Dam could burst, and water would still not be near me. Despite that, my sister-in-law (who is an attorney specializing in insurance litigation) told me to get flood insurance. She said everyone should have flood insurance. The reason being that a lot of policies are written that damage caused by "rising water" is not covered. It doesn't specify a source for the rising water, so it can (and is) used as a loophole by insurance companies to not cover foundation leaks. Flood insurance closes that loophole.

As to whether your policy will cover your repairs, it is probably all dependent on the very specific wording of it.

[Lupita3382]

I don't mean to butt in but I'm in California and just had a a second opinion on some water damage on my house due to slab leak. Now this person told me my all state insurance will not cover the pipe repair but all the damages to my property. So I guess im just wondering that if the plumber has to hammer the cement does this qualify as damage to my property? Or is this an out of pocket cost for us? I started a claim already and this person just told me to continue with the claim.p

[kiacook]

Cpt Rn asked for an update and here it is: American Leak Detectors found 3 more leaks: one at the kitchen sink, one at the guest bath toilet and one right at the foundation edge leading to the sewer, which is near the kitchen sink. The insurance company kept trying to discourage me, but I went ahead and submitted a claim. Because the leaks are in 2 different main areas, it would require 2 separate claims, each with a $2k deductible. The total for the tunneling was estimated to be $3k. And the tunneling is all the insurance co would cover - they wouldn't cover the plumbing or leak repair. So if it were covered, I would basically only be reimbursed $1k on a $10k bill.

In other news, the structural engineer finished his report and recommends installing piers in the interior of the foundation. Piers had previously been installed around the perimeter in 2005, potentially causing the issue I'm having now. Engineer says basically piers should be used throughout or not at all.

Anyway, since there will be digging done under the house to install the piers, plumbing repairs will be done at the same time which will likely negate any insurance claim on tunneling to the leak(s).

So, loads and loads of fun.