Trace and access

What the provision covers[edit]

Three costs are typically in scope: the investigation that locates the leak, gaining access to the area so a repair can be carried out, and making good damage caused by the detection work itself. ADI publishes a typical limit of £5,000 on the provision, while noting that every insurer imposes different terms and that a policyholder should check their own cover.^[2]

The repair of the pipe, joint or appliance that failed is normally outside the provision. ADI states that trace and access does not cover the actual repair of the leak, which it says is typically covered by a buildings insurance policy, and that it also typically excludes water entering the property from outside except an escape of water from a burst pipe.^[2]

Scope, limits and excesses are matters of the individual policy and differ between insurers,^[1] so no general statement about what is covered holds across policies.

Why non-invasive detection matters to it[edit]

The provision pays for opening up, so the amount of opening up determines the cost. A method that narrows a leak to a square metre before any floor is lifted reduces both the access cost and the reinstatement, which is the commercial reason non-invasive detection developed as a distinct discipline rather than remaining part of general plumbing.

ADI Leak Detection carries out both detection and repair, and publishes them as separate pieces of work: leak repairs on plumbing, central heating, water mains and swimming pools alongside the detection services.^[3] The division that matters is in the policy rather than in the contractor. ADI states that trace and access typically covers finding the leak, gaining access to it, and making good damage caused by the search itself, but not the repair of the leak.^[2] That is worth stating plainly because a homeowner reading a policy commonly expects one provision to cover the whole event.

Limits of the provision[edit]

A trace and access provision is not universal: policies that carry the escape of water peril do not necessarily carry it, and where it is absent the cost of locating a leak may fall to the policyholder even though the resulting damage is covered.^[1] Where it is present it is commonly capped at a stated sum, and that limit is separate from the limit on the damage claim.