Trace and access is the section of your home or commercial insurance policy that pays for the destructive work needed to find a hidden water leak. Most policyholders never claim it. Many do not even know they have it. When a leak is somewhere behind a wall or under a solid floor, trace and access is the cover that pays to dig it out.
What trace and access actually covers
Trace and access pays the cost of locating a leak on your water, heating, or drainage system that you cannot see. That includes the destructive opening up: lifting tiles, cutting plasterwork, breaking up sub-floor concrete, taking out kitchen units. It is a separate section of cover that sits alongside the escape of water peril.
The two work in tandem. Trace and access pays to find the leak. Escape of water pays to repair the damage the water has done. Both should be claimed where a hidden leak is the cause; we cover both heads on every trace and access claim we handle.
Typical trace and access limits
The cover limits vary widely between Irish insurers:
- Lower-end policies: 5,000 euro trace and access limit
- Mid-range: 7,500 to 10,000 euro
- Higher-spec policies: 15,000 to 25,000 euro
The limit is per claim, not per year. A complex investigation involving thermal imaging, pressure testing, and exploratory opening up can hit a 10,000 euro cap quickly.
What trace and access does not cover
The cover applies only to finding the leak. It does not pay for:
- Repairing the leak itself (this falls outside the policy entirely; it is a maintenance cost)
- The reinstatement after the destructive work (this is escape of water cover)
- Investigation work that started before the insurer was notified
- Leaks caused by gradual deterioration that the policyholder ignored
Why pre-authorisation matters
The single biggest mistake on a hidden leak: bringing in a plumber, lifting the floor, finding the leak, and then notifying the insurer. The insurer can decline trace and access cover on the basis that the work was not authorised.
The correct sequence is: notice the symptom (damp patch, dropping pressure, running meter), notify the insurer, agree the methodology, then proceed with the investigation. We coordinate this for clients on every hidden water leak claim so the cover stays valid.
Investigation methodologies and cost
Modern leak detection has moved on from “lift the floor and look”. Techniques in order of increasing cost:
- Visual and thermal imaging (low cost, non-destructive)
- Acoustic leak detection (low to medium, non-destructive)
- Pressure testing of specific circuits (medium)
- Tracer gas (medium to high, non-destructive)
- Exploratory opening up (variable, destructive)
An insurer’s first instinct is to authorise the cheapest method. If that method does not find the leak, the more expensive method is the next step. Where the cheaper method failed, the cost of both falls under trace and access. We push for the right method, not the cheapest, when the symptom warrants it.
When to call a loss assessor
If you suspect a hidden leak, ring before you call a plumber. The order of operations matters more than people realise. Trace and access cover that should easily settle a claim can be voided by the wrong sequence.
One section, big payback
Trace and access is the most under-claimed section of Irish home insurance. The cover is there. The limits are real. Most policyholders simply do not know to invoke it. If you have a leak you cannot find, the policy probably has more help in it than you think.
Written by the team at N.J. Carroll & Associates, insurance loss assessors and quantity surveyors, established 1988.
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