A strata site that claimed for water damage will receive a payout after the complaints authority ruled the loss was probably caused by a truck hitting pipes. 

The insured said a truck drove onto the nature strip outside the property in April 2021 and damaged two joints in the main water lines, leading to a leak.  

But insurer Strata Community Insurance Agencies said its engineer found a vehicle was unlikely to have caused the damage.  

The engineer instead suggested the pipe was dented when it was installed in 2019.

The insurer doubted a truck was present, arguing it would have been “physically impossible” to drive over the nature strip and not damage plants there. It rejected the claim.

The claimant said its plumber saw tyre marks on the grass next to the water line, and independent witness statements supported the “presence of trucks in the area and tyre marks on the grass”.  

The strata site’s appointed engineer said pressure from the truck, combined with natural ground conditions, was enough to “cause enough differential movement to cause the joint to fall”.

In a dispute decision, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority notes neither engineer attended the site, and repairs had been completed by the time they finished their reporting.  

But it accepts a truck probably contributed to the loss.

“Having reviewed all the exchanged material, I am satisfied that the complainant has established that the damage was caused from a sudden and accidental cause, being the truck on the grass nature strip, which is not a cause otherwise excluded by the policy,” an AFCA ombudsman said.  

The insurer must pay the claim. See the ruling here. 

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