Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Slab Leak Repairs?

Most homes here in Las Vegas and elsewhere in Nevada are built on a concrete slab foundation.

Water and sewer lines typically run under that. All it takes is some deterioration or break in those lines to cause a release of those pipes’ contents under your home, which can not only adversely affect your house’s structural integrity but also pose health risks, like mold growth, for example.

However inconvenient all this may seem, it may not worry you much if you have coverage on your home, but will this protect you?

Below, we deep-dive and answer the question, “Does homeowners insurance cover slab leak repairs.”

Why Foundation Water Leaks Occur

Slab leaks are common, but mostly only among older homes, especially since the galvanized steel or copper pipes tend to corrode. However, other homes are vulnerable to this phenomenon, which occurs when a home’s pipes are subjected to outside pressure, such as soil erosion or an earthquake.

Fixing Slab Problems Like These

If you’re convinced you have a leak because you hear a constant sound of running water, there’s water pooling, you see foundation cracks, and/or there’s a foul smell, you’ll want to have a plumber come out and verify for sure.

As you wait for them to come out, you’ve probably begun investigating ways to fix it in anticipation of comparing it against what the plumber says. You’ve probably learned that it’s a pretty big undertaking that primarily involves one of the following three options:

• Re-piping or rerouting existing pipes
• Minor demolition to get to the source of the leak to repair it before replacing the concrete
• Creating a tunnel under the slab

Each of these three options can cost thousands of dollars to repair, which is why homeowners often look to their insurance policy to see if it covers repairs like this.

Slab Leaks and Insurance Coverage

If you have looked to see if your policy covers the slab leak, you have difficulty finding a definitive answer. Why?

Whether your homeowners insurance covers the leak comes to what caused it.

Put quite simply, most policies do provide coverage for slab leaks and resulting water damage; however, they won’t cover the pipe burst repair itself. So, if a plumbing professional determines that you have broken pipes but no broken slab, it’s unlikely that your insurance carrier would pay anything toward your repair costs.

Also, insurance companies don’t typically allow you to file a claim if issues like this occur due to wear and tear or ineffective maintenance issues.

So, if they have any reason to believe that the broken pipe that caused the leak stems from you allowing roots to grow out of hand in your pipes without taking measures to address the issue, then they may deny your claim.

Similarly, if there’s verifiable foundation damage and water damage caused by the concrete slab leak, an insurer wouldn’t typically pay to repair the damaged pipes, but they would cover the foundation and saturation and dampness issues.

However, if the insurance company has reason to believe that flooding, soil shifting, or other typical exclusions apply, they may not pay on your claim.

What To Do if an Insurer Denies Your Concrete Slab Leak Claim

The best-case scenario is that your insurer will find that your slab leak was completely unexpected and that you did all you could to prevent it from happening and thus pay on your claim.

However, if your homeowners insurance flat-out denied your claim to pay for repairs, and asking for a re-consideration hasn’t helped, you may want to reach out to us here at the Law Office of Matthew L. Sharp.

Our law office specializes in handling bad-faith insurance claims. We represent Las Vegas homeowners whose insurers have denied their claims for invalid reasons, and we want to help you if you’ve fallen victim to the same unscrupulous tactics.

There are time limits for filing these cases, so be sure to reach out to us as soon as possible to discuss your situation and any legal rights you may have in dealing with it.

Your initial consultation with an attorney in our office is free of charge.