Trace and access cost: limits, excesses and separate work
Understand which costs use the trace and access limit, which may sit elsewhere, and what you need your insurer to confirm.
Call an engineer0333 567 2646A guide from ADI Leak Detection. Lines open 7:30am to 6:30pm, Monday to Friday.
A policy limit is not a service price
The limit is the maximum payable under the relevant wording, subject to the claim being covered and other terms. It is not a quotation, a guaranteed payment or evidence that every investigation is insured.
Read the schedule for the amount that applies to your policy. Do not use a limit quoted on another website as a substitute.
Ask for an itemised scope
- Detection
- Testing and reporting to investigate the source.
- Access
- Removing specific finishes or building materials to reach it.
- Repair
- Work on the failed pipe or fitting; confirm whether a separate section applies.
- Making good
- Restoring the opening created during the search.
- Water damage
- Drying and reinstating areas damaged by water, which may be assessed separately.
Four details that change your own contribution
- Whether the limit applies per event, per claim or across a policy period.
- Whether the excess is deducted before or after applying a sub-limit.
- Whether related work shares one excess or has different treatment.
- Whether VAT and professional fees are included in the applicable limit.
These are questions to resolve from the wording and the insurer’s written response, not assumptions to make from a headline figure.
Compare quotations on the same basis
Check the system being investigated, access arrangements, report deliverables, exclusions and who will restore disturbed finishes. A detection-only quotation cannot be compared directly with one that includes opening up and repair.
Ask who is paying the contractor and whether any reimbursement is conditional. Use the approval questions before commissioning work.
Need to define the investigation scope?
ADI can explain the proposed investigation and report. Ask your insurer to confirm cover and any approval requirements before commissioning non-emergency work. ADI cannot authorise an insurance claim.
Call an engineer0333 567 2646Lines open 7:30am to 6:30pm, Monday to Friday.