About 13 years ago we had a bathroom renovation done, now 13 years later we have a big problem that all the tiles are coming of the wall. Am I correct that this is never covered by any Home & Content Insurance as the insurance only covers events? I’m always confused because when I read PDAs I often found exclusions similar to this one: Under this policy there is no cover provided caused directly or indirectly by or in anyway connected with: defects, structural or design faults, faulty workmanship or faulty design. We will only apply this exclusion where you knew or should reasonably have known the issue existed… Of course I didn’t know that issue existed, but again I think this would only cover “events”?
Any help in my understanding would be appreciated.
This can be a complex problem… Licenced tradespeople are required to have insurance to cover the work they do. You would have to prove the damage was a result of their failure to do the work appropriately. After 13 years this would be a difficult case to mount in my opinion. Please note I am not a tradesperson and definitely not a plumber or tiler. If the waterproofing membrane has failed this is not normally covered by a home insurance policy, it is something that probably will fail given enough time. I have provided a link to an Insurance brokerage page about this type of ‘what can be claimed’ issue that may help you understand what you may be able to claim and what may not be claimable. This is not any recommendation of the business that this page is created by.
Tiles coming off the wall by themselves isn’t claimable under your insurance policy. It would be classed as maintenance activity the homeowner is responsible for.
However, if tiles came off due to a claimable event, say a storm where winds blew off the roof and falling debris from the roof caused tiles to dislodge, this would be covered by an insurance policy as the damage was directly caused by a claimable event.
It is also worth noting that waterproofing membrane on the surface behind the tiles usually has a warranty period of 10 years. There Is a possibility that the waterproofing membrane is getting old causing tiles to lose their ability to stick to the wall. It is recommended you get someone to check the membrane’s integrity before fixing the loose tiles. Not doing so may mean a bigger problem in the future if the membrane fails and water leaks into the wall and beyond.
Also it might be worth investigating why the tiles are coming off. It could be due to building movement or other reasons. If there is something causing the tiles to dislodge, this needs to be fixed otherwise the replaced tiles will again fall off in the future… or crack/grout falling out.
