Trace and access cover for business premises: what to check before anyone lifts a floor

The meter keeps turning with every tap shut off, a patch of floor by the back counter will not dry, and the leak is somewhere under a finished floor in a store that has to trade tomorrow. Before anyone lifts a tile, spend ten minutes with the insurance schedule. Trace and access cover exists for exactly this moment, and the wording decides whether it pays.

What trace and access cover is

Trace and access is the part of a property policy that pays to find the source of an escape of water and to open up and make good the walls, floors or ceilings disturbed while looking for it. It sits beside the main escape of water cover, which deals with the damage the water itself does.

The wording varies a great deal between policies. One household policy examined by the Financial Ombudsman Service paid “necessary and reasonable costs that you incur in finding the source of damage to the home” caused by an escape of water, up to £5,000 for any one claim, including “reinstating any wall floor ceiling drive fence or path removed or damaged during the search”. Commercial policies set their own triggers and limits. Treat that example as the shape of the cover and read your own schedule for the details.

Four things to check in your wording

1. Whether you have it, and who holds the policy. In a rented unit the building may be insured by the landlord, with your own policy covering contents, stock and loss of trading. Check the insurance clause in your lease and the section headings in your schedule. The ABI describes business insurance as protection against everyday risks such as stock or premises damage, and the premises part may sit with somebody else.

2. What triggers it. This is the clause that catches people out. In two ombudsman cases, both on household policies, the cover only engaged if the escape of water had actually damaged the property. In the first, the insurer argued the damage was unproven because the wet flooring had been thrown away; the ombudsman upheld the complaint on the photos and video the policyholder had kept. In the second, the policyholder said the leak itself had damaged nothing and only the search had, and the ombudsman found there was no cover. An underground supply pipe losing water into the ground without wetting anything inside can fall straight into that gap.

3. The limit and the excess. Trace and access can carry its own limit, separate from the main buildings cover. In the second case the policy capped trace and access at £5,000, while other cover under the same policy ran far higher. The excess matters too. In a third decision the policy applied its £500 escape of water excess to trace and access work, and the ombudsman found that fair because the terms said so. That was a household policy too. Commercial wordings differ, so read your own.

4. Exclusions for gradual damage. Look for wording about wear and tear or damage that happens gradually. As the ombudsman put it in that third case, “It isn’t unusual for buildings insurance policies to have an exclusion like this given that the purpose of insurance is to cover unexpected losses.” If a leak has been running for months, expect the insurer to ask how long, and expect the detection report to be read closely.

Call the insurer before the floor comes up

The order of events matters more than most people expect. Before any cutting:

Notify your insurer or broker and get a claim reference.
Ask whether they want to appoint their own leak detection contractor or will approve yours.
Ask what they need to see in the detection report, and whether a loss adjuster will visit.
Get the approval in writing, even if it is only an email.
Photograph everything before work starts, and keep damaged materials until the insurer or adjuster says they can go.

Point five is the one that decided the flooring case above. Once the evidence is in a skip, you are arguing from memory.

What a claim usually needs

Evidence	Why it helps
Meter readings with dates and times	Shows water was escaping and roughly for how long
Photos and video taken before any work	Shows the damage the leak caused, which may be what triggers the cover
The leak detection report	Records where the leak was, how it was found and what caused it
Invoices for detection, access and making good	The figures the insurer settles against
A note of who you told, and when	Shows you reported it promptly

We write our reports with that list in mind. An insurance-ready report sets out the method, the exact location of the leak and the photographs, so your insurer or loss adjuster is not left piecing it together. There is more on how this works on our insurance claims page.

The water you lost is a separate matter

Insurance deals with finding the leak and with the damage. The extra water on your bill may be a different conversation altogether, so check whether your policy mentions it. Separately, in the business water market in England, a leak on your side of the meter can qualify for a leak allowance from the wholesaler, applied for through your retailer. The industry’s customer guidance sets out the main conditions:

your retailer must apply within six months of the repair being completed
you need evidence of the repair, such as the repair bill, and at least two actual meter reads taken at least two weeks apart after the repair, showing consumption back to normal
photographs of the leak and of the meter reading help the claim
only one allowance is granted in any 24 month period, with further requests assessed case by case
increased use from leaking internal fixtures and fittings, such as a dripping tap, does not qualify

Wholesaler policies differ, and some reduce only the sewerage charges, so ask your retailer what applies to your site.

If the insurer says no

Ask for the decision in writing, with the exact clause it relies on. Check that clause against the four points above, and talk to your broker if you have one. If you have complained to the insurer and are still unhappy, the Financial Ombudsman Service can help micro-enterprises and small businesses. It says about 99% of small businesses in the UK can bring a complaint to it.

Where we come in

We locate leaks with as little opening up as possible, then write the report your insurer will ask for. For supply pipes and underground runs, see water mains leak detection. For leaks under slabs and screeds, see underfloor leak detection.

We aim to find and repair on the same day wherever the job allows. Our engineers cover England, Scotland and Wales. To book a survey, call 0333 567 2615; for anything else, use our contact page.

Frequently asked

Our supply pipe is leaking but nothing looks damaged. Will trace and access pay?

Read the trigger wording before you assume it will. In the ombudsman decisions cited on this page, the cover only applied where the escape of water had damaged the property. Ask your insurer or broker how your own commercial policy reads before any work is booked on the strength of it.

Can we use our own leak detection company?

Ask your insurer first. Some insurers appoint their own contractors and others will approve the one you choose. Get the answer in writing, with the claim reference, before anyone starts work.

Does the policy pay for the water we lost?

Check your wording. Separately, in the business water market in England you can ask your retailer about a leak allowance once the leak has been repaired. The retailer has to apply within six months of the repair being completed.