Devices to reduce risk of damage from burst pipes save owners money
June 6, 2016 by APRIL Canada
Burst pipes represent a nightmare scenario that many homeowners across Canada have unfortunately faced. The damage they do can happen quickly, and the cost to repair it adds up fast. Unfortunately, the problems that led to the incident often go undetected by homeowners. But now there are emerging options for reducing that risk, and in turn lowering ongoing home insurance costs.
There are now devices such as Aquatrip that constantly monitor a home’s pipe system to see if there is a leak. When the system detects a potential problem, it automatically shuts the water off and therefore limits the damage a home might otherwise suffer. Aquatrip can also detect things like dripping taps, broken toilets, and so on. As a result, getting one installed by a professional can significantly reduce homeowners costs such as water bills in addition to insurance premiums.
Damage from burst pipes can very quickly get a lot worse than this.
An unfortunate situation
One such situation in which such a device could have really helped the homeowners recently took place in the U.S., according to a report from the Washington Post. A property was being renovated, and a pipe that had previously been improperly insulated in an attic burst. The resulting damage forced the homeowners to lose about a third of the work that had already been done on the home, and it had to be restarted. Further, it forced the family to move for a few months.
“The original contractors had not taken appropriate steps to protect the house when they took off the roof, and we ended up with mould on the basement drywall and flooring,” homeowner Jay Timmons told the newspaper. “We moved into the unfinished upstairs while that was remediated, and then, after the pipe burst, we moved out for four months into a rental home. The disruption to our kids’ lives was terrible, particularly because the oldest was starting kindergarten by then.”
This was part of a much longer renovation nightmare for the homeowners, the report said. In the end, even beyond the insurance headaches, they also paid tens of thousands of dollars for the work.
An object lesson
This case is unique, but also somewhat common. There was a problem with the home that the owner really couldn’t have known about (an under-insulated pipe in the attic), but which still did significant damage that caused major headaches – financial and otherwise – for the family living there.
Homeowners will need to do some homework to determine whether they have the right type of insurance to cover them as fully as possible in the event of such an incident. If not, it’s probably wise to look at a number of options and then make an upgrade. And even if they do, having an Aquatrip installed can still help them to avoid the kind of headaches that come with that damage. A home’s insurance needs are likely to change over time anyway, so it’s often a good idea for owners to carefully review their status on a regular basis.
“Leak detection devices have been available on the market for many years,” states Damage Control Pro`s President Kyle Sigouin, “but they haven’t been accessible, affordable or easy to install. Damage Control Pro is purely focused on protecting at risk homeowners from preventable water escape. It is accessible to an insured through our online portal at a pre-determined price using preferred installers Canada-wide. Insurance is a monetary protection and in some cases a ‘maintenance policy,’ with products like the AquaTrip the insured can protect their property in advance to avoid needing to make claims on their insurance.”
Information about APRIL Canada:
APRIL Canada is the largest independent MGA in Canada backed by worldwide expertise in providing innovative insurance solutions for your hard to place insurance risks. Our ambition is to change the image of insurance by keeping things simple. Offering different perspectives, we are specialists in niches of non-standard insurance. With over 40 highly skilled specialist underwriters, APRIL develops and offers a wide range of tailor-made products across personal and commercial lines for your clients` special risks. True to its values and commitments, customer relationships are at the heart of what we do. Teamwork and partnership between underwriters and insurance brokers are central to providing the beast solution for insured clients. A relationship that is truly built on trust enables us to provide the best possible coverage.
APRIL Canada has more than 130 employees, 4 offices Canada Wide, 45,000 Policy Holders and 2,500 Broker Partners. By choosing APRIL you can be assured of high quality advice and excellent service. We do not provide ready made products, but made to order solutions. For us, each risk is unique and deserves an in depth understanding. Drawing on these key assets- the ability to tailor products, the high level of service and driven by a strong entrepreneurial culture, a strong customer relationship is the centre of everything we do at APRIL.
Please find out more about APRIL Canada at www.april.ca.
You can contact as on info@april.ca or 1-855-745-1010.
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