Does insurance claim possible on HWS and stormwater block

Its my PPOR. where the recent storms in sydney dumped whole lot of water .

The stormwater was partially blocked due to roots which i was not aware and was working all these days. But the latest rain dump flooded my side of the house since the pipe ( 90mm ) didn't drain the flow quick enough . And this was compounded by neighbours which also had a similar problem and dumped his water on my property. This flooding damaged my HWS which i had to replace and also currently sorting out the storm pipe by replacing the pipe since the jetting didn't help. I'm looking at a cost of 1000$ HWS and 2500$ for pipe replacement ( since needs to cut concrete in some area ).

I only have building insurance and my question is does the insurance cover the replacement HWS and the necessary pipe work. And also since most of water was overflow from my neighbour ( on my high side ) is he ( his insurance ) responsible for paying for it ?.

 

What does your policy say ? Insurers would only pay to replace the HWS. Plumbing works seem like maintenance cost you are responsible for and not damage.

I doubt you can attribute rain and storm flood damage to a neighbour when your pipes are blocked. This inundation issue caused by your blocked pipes seems the cause and would need assessing by the insurer before they accept the claim provided your policy definition covers it.

I would get claim approval before touching a thing with the HWS

 

You are going to have to sit down and read your insurance policy wording relating to storm damage, rainwater and flood. Policies vary.

I doubt any policy will cover replacing the underground pipes. The damage to them is caused by the tree roots, not the storm. Tree roots can only enter through cracked or broken pipes, usually age related deterioration.
Marg

 

Pipe replacement is a maintenance issue not an insurance one.
HWS may or may not be a successful claim depending on how the insurer views the situation - it can't hurt to ask the insurer. If your neighbour is found to be at fault and your insurer pays for the HWS, the insurer will chase your neighbour for payment.
You'd have to read the PDS to see if the HWS is covered by just the building insurance. I would have thought it to be 'contents' and not covered, but check.

 

Currently with Woolies. Which i know its bad since my IP is with EBM.

https://insurance.woolworths.com.au...cumentsHome/Woolworths_Home Insurance_PDS.pdf

Based on that HWS is covered if the incident is due to overflow of stormwater . but obvious the pipe may be out of pocket.

 

And also like to know how much is the neighbour responsible since the bulk of the water came from his side .
We had this issue previously and he is dodging to clean up his stormwater drainage. Is going council my only option ?.

 

Water flows downhill.

Unless your neighbour is deliberately diverting or directing the water to flow onto your property then you cannot hold him/her responsible for the consequences of heavy rainfall.
Marg

 

And you admit your drain was not operable