Partially upheld: Home insurance claim disputes complaint against Great Lakes Insurance SE

Decision detail

Summary

A property management company and resident claimed water damage to their multi-occupied property should be covered under their Great Lakes Insurance policy as resulting from a boiler fault. Great Lakes declined the claim, asserting the damage was caused by water exiting via the boiler overflow pipe, traveling down the external wall, and entering through waterproofing weaknesses—not an insured peril. The ombudsman found Great Lakes' version supported by a leak detection report and plumber invoices, with no evidence of internal water escape. The claim decline was upheld as correct. However, the complaint was partially upheld because Great Lakes admitted avoidable delays between December 2024 and May 2025 in responding to the claimant's challenge, warranting £100 compensation.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the policy clearly covers damage from escape of water inside the building but not water ingress from outside caused by failures in the building's waterproof envelope (unless caused by an insured peril). The evidence supported Great Lakes' version of events: the boiler overflow pipe operated as intended, water exited externally and traveled down the external wall due to poor pipe installation and external wall weaknesses, then entered through gaps in the waterproofing. The overflow pipe operating as designed cannot reasonably be construed as an 'escape of water' constituting an insured peril. However, Great Lakes' admitted avoidable delays in responding to the claimant's challenge between December 2024 and May 2025 warranted compensation.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website