Not upheld: claim denial and policy coverage exclusion complaint against British Gas Insurance Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs M complained that British Gas failed to resolve a toilet leak that caused extensive damage to her bathroom floor and kitchen ceiling. British Gas denied the claim, stating the leak resulted from improper installation of the toilet by a third party and that the damage was not covered under the policy. The ombudsman found that the toilet was indeed not installed to a satisfactory standard (it was not secured to the floor as required), which caused the leak through repeated movement during normal use. Since the policy excluded cover for third-party installation defects and water damage to the property, and Mrs M had not arranged the remedial work British Gas recommended, the ombudsman did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the toilet was not installed to a satisfactory standard because it was not secured to the floor as required by the manufacturer's instructions. The improper installation caused the toilet to move during normal use, which affected the alignment of the waste connection and caused the leak. Because the policy explicitly excludes cover for repairs where work was carried out by a third party to an unsatisfactory standard, and excludes damage caused by water leaks, British Gas was not responsible for repairing the leak or the resulting damage. Additionally, Mrs M failed to arrange the remedial work recommended by British Gas in July 2024, and the policy also excludes faults that Mrs M was told about but did not fix.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website