Q. My father has had a leak from his washing machine in the kitchen.  This has spread under the floorboards in the kitchen into the bathroom. The insurance company were quite happy to pay to replace the floorboard affected in the Kitchen and bathroom as it had spread to there as well. They came to do the work but have said that there is wet rot in the bathroom and therefore the insurance company will no longer pay for the floor in the bathroom. As some of the damage must have been caused by the leak my father does not know where he now stands with the insurance company. Can you advise please?

Submitted by: LK 

A. It is difficult to advise on insurance matters as there would appear to be considerable differences between loss adjusters and what they will and will not pay for. Some will argue that wet rot is a consequence of the leak and you are not covered for consequential losses.

For what reason other than wet rot were the boards being changed? Is it because they had twisted and warped? If they had agreed to change the kitchen boards and we assume that the boards are common to both areas i.e. run beneath the dividing wall, then we see no reason why the bathroom boards should not also be changed if they are affected in a similar way to the kitchen. The wet rot may be incidental and you are not claiming for that. On the other hand the wet rot may have been caused by the leak in which case you would probably struggle. Or the wet rot may be far more widespread and
not related to the leak in which case we would suspect the kitchen is also affected. Make sure the property has good sub-floor ventilation.

Sorry not to have been of much use.