Short answer: Escape of water covers the damage caused by water leaking from pipes, tanks or appliances, such as ruined floors, ceilings and plaster. Trace and access covers finding the hidden leak and getting to it, including making good the damage done in the search. They are often claimed together. Neither usually pays to repair the pipe.
Escape of water vs trace and access is a question most people only ask once they have a leak. The two covers sit side by side in most buildings policies and are often claimed together. They pay for different things, and the pipe repair usually falls between them.
Side by side
| Escape of water | Trace and access | |
|---|---|---|
| What it pays for | Damage the leaking water causes | Finding the leak and getting to it |
| Examples | Ruined floors, ceilings, plaster, kitchen units | Leak detection, lifting floors, opening walls, digging to a buried pipe |
| Making good | Repairs the water damage | Repairs the damage done during the search |
| Repair to the pipe | Usually not | Usually not |
| Water from outside (rain, flooding) | No, that is a different peril | No |
The definitions follow MoneySuperMarket’s trace and access guide. Escape of water means water leaking from a closed system such as pipes, tanks and appliances. Water getting in from outside is treated differently. The Association of British Insurers reports that insurers pay out around £1.8 million a day for escape of water damage, as cited in the same guide.
How they work together
A typical hidden leak claim runs like this:
- The damage appears: a damp ceiling, a lifting floor, a stain that keeps spreading. That is escape of water.
- The source is hidden: under the floor, in a wall, under the drive. Finding it is trace and access.
- The leak is located and opened up. The report records where it was and what caused it.
- The pipe is repaired. Usually this is your cost, not the insurer’s.
- The water damage and the access are made good. This is claimed under the two covers.
Hidden leak causing damage?
Traced, opened up and documented for your insurer.
Where the gaps are
- No damage, just a bill. A buried supply pipe leak often damages nothing, so there is no escape of water claim. Trace and access may still pay to find it, and the water company’s leakage allowance covers the lost water.
- Wear and tear. A pipe that has simply worn out isn’t covered, though the damage it causes may be.
- Gradual leaks. Some policies exclude damage from leaks that ran for a long time unnoticed. Acting as soon as you suspect a leak matters.
- The water company’s side. Leaks on the main, communication pipe or meter are fixed free by Severn Trent.
For more on the tracing side, see what trace and access covers and the trace and access service.
Bottom line
Escape of water pays for the damage, trace and access pays for finding the leak, and the pipe repair is usually yours. Log one claim, photograph everything, and get a report that shows where the leak was and why. Call 0115 839 0791, 9am–7pm, 7 days.