Our client is insured under an HO 00 03 04 91 policy. He smelled gas in his finished basement and called the local gas company. They responded and determined that a gas leak existed. They ripped open a plastered wall and located the leak, prevented any explosion, and soon fixed the pipe.

We turned the claim in to the homeowners carrier. However, the insurer has denied coverage, stating that there was no damage.

Ohio Subscriber

You are right about the plumbing situation. If this were a broken plumbing pipe, the policy would pay for the tear out and replacement of the wall. However, the broken pipe in this case is a broken gas line. The policy only specifies coverage for plumbing.

 Even though one might call a plumber to repair such a leak, there is no coverage. Remember, plumbing is concerned only with the movement of water in and out of a building.

The only covered property to suffer damage is the gas pipe and that just wore out (an excluded cause of loss). Since covered property did not suffer loss from a covered peril, the homeowners policy provides no coverage.

 This is just one of those things that happens to a homeowner, one of the myriad of events for which a homeowner must incur some expense.

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