Supply Line and Appliance Leaks

Step-by-step checklist

Identify

• Contact the claim adjuster right away. Ask them to hold the scene and for permission to retain an expert at the client's expense. Note the call in the file.
• On every claim, ask the client whether they want an origin and cause investigator to review the scene, or confirm one is already assigned. Note their answer in the file so the decision is on record.
• Make sure no evidence is touched or moved until the expert has secured the scene
• Get the client's approval for the scene exam cost. Most run at least $1,600 with travel, the day rate, and expenses.
• Find the failed line, hose, or fitting
• Photograph it in place, including brand and date markings
• Ask who installed it and when

Hands off until the expert arrives. Nothing at the scene gets touched, moved, repaired, or thrown out until the origin and cause investigator has secured it. Evidence that's moved early can sink the whole recovery.

Notify

• Get an expert from the insurance carrier, or a plumber willing to write a statement of findings
• Secure the failed part, its fittings, and a matching intact line
• Notify the part maker, appliance maker, installer, and retailer

Investigate

• Check the home's water pressure (over 80 psi needs a pressure-reducing valve)
• Note any cleaners stored near the line
• Search recalls and class actions for the product
• Hold a joint lab exam before any testing, then review the report

Demand

• Review payments and out-of-pocket costs
• Sort the supports into photos, estimates, invoices, mitigation moisture logs, and reports
• Send the full demand packet

Negotiate

• Follow up. No response? Send the second demand.
• If liability is accepted, negotiate. If not, review for ADR.

Settle

• Review the release
• Receive payment, issue the deductible and client payments
• Final file review, then close

1. Identify

What fails

• Toilet and faucet supply lines, especially braided lines with plastic coupling nuts
• Washing machine fill hoses
• Refrigerator ice maker and water dispenser lines
• Dishwasher supply lines, drain hoses, and inlet valves
• Under-sink and refrigerator water filters

Defect, installation, or wear?

Responsible parties to consider

• The manufacturer of the failed part, which may be different from the appliance maker
• The appliance manufacturer
• Whoever installed it: a plumber, handyman, or a retailer's delivery and installation crew
• The retailer, when installation came with the purchase

Identify the part

Most supply lines and hoses have the brand molded into the coupling nut or printed on a tag or the hose. Look for date codes. Ask the insured for the packaging, the receipt, online order history, and who installed it and when. If the insured installed it themselves, the installation claim is gone and only a product claim remains.

2. Notify and investigate

Secure the part immediately. The faster the failed component is secured, the better your chance of documenting how it was installed and keeping chain of custody. Tell the insured and the mitigation company:

• Don't unscrew or cut out the failed line if it can be avoided. Photograph it in place, then let the expert remove it.
• Keep both ends and all fittings, not just the hose.
• Keep matching lines from elsewhere in the home, such as the other toilet or the other washer hose. An intact twin from the same batch helps the expert compare.

Home warranty companies: protect the evidence before the tech arrives

Home warranty companies often send their own contractor, and the tech usually collects the old parts as they finish the repair. Once the failed line, valve, or hose leaves the house, your evidence is gone. Call the insured before the tech arrives, and have them:

1. Tell the tech not to take any evidence. The failed line, fitting, valve, or hose stays at the home.
2. Show the tech the origin of the loss before any work starts, so the tech can photograph it before the repair.
3. Take their own photos and video of the origin and the connections before anything is touched.
4. Get the tech's name, company, and the warranty claim or work order number.
5. Bag and label every removed part and keep it somewhere safe until the exam.

Then put the warranty company and its contractor on notice. Request the warranty contract, the dispatch and work order, and the tech's notes and photos. Read the warranty contract for any liability limits or waivers.

Who to put on notice

• The part manufacturer and the appliance manufacturer
• The installer and the retailer
• Their carriers, once known
• The home warranty company and its contractor, if one was involved

Evidence checklist

• Photos of the failed part in place, the brand and date markings, and the surrounding area
• The failed part, fittings, and any matching intact parts
• Purchase receipt, packaging, or online order history
• Installation invoice, or the delivery and installation record from the retailer
• What was stored nearby. Bleach and other cleaners under a sink can corrode braided lines.
• The home's water pressure. Above 80 psi, the code generally requires a pressure-reducing valve.
• Mitigation photos and moisture maps

Mitigation records, not just the estimate. Get the moisture maps, daily moisture readings, drying logs, equipment logs, and photos showing where the water came from and how far it spread. Record them in the file and send them to the adverse carrier with the demand. The estimate alone usually isn't enough to prove the water damage.

Caution: when the mitigation company makes it worse. Occasionally the mitigation company worsens the damage, for example by showing up late, missing wet areas, pulling the drying equipment too early, or letting mold take hold. When that happens, document it clearly: the timeline, the moisture readings from each visit, and photos. The adverse carrier will argue it isn't responsible for the added damage, and the mitigation company may become a responsible party for that part of the loss.

Exams

These failures are usually proven in a lab under a microscope. Your expert may need to tell creep cracking from overtightening apart from a molding defect. Send a joint lab exam notice before any testing that alters the part. Also check the CPSC recall list and any class actions for the product, since some supply line brands have known failure histories.

3. Demand, negotiate, and settle

Liability theories

• Against the manufacturer: manufacturing or design defect, failure to warn (for example, no warning about chemicals or a replacement schedule), and breach of warranty
• Against the installer or retailer: negligent installation

Defenses to expect

Negotiating and settling

• Large supply line and appliance makers usually handle claims through their own adjusters or a third-party administrator. Expect a lab exam request.
• Retailers with installation programs often use subcontractors. Get both the retailer's and the subcontractor's insurance.
• Review the release with the release checklist, then close with the standard closing letter and the deductible reimbursement letter.

4. Letters for this loss

Sources

• Failures in flexible water supply lines (OCI Group)
• Flexible braided stainless steel hose failures (Cozen O'Connor)
• Water supply line class actions (ClassAction.org)
• IRC pressure-reducing valve required above 80 psi (Jaspector)