Trace & Access Leak Detection: Insurance-Ready Reports, London & Surrey
We locate hidden leaks without tearing your home apart, and give you the trace & access report your insurer needs to progress the claim. Urgent cases are prioritised across London & Surrey.
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Insurance-ready reports · Non-invasive detection · We can liaise with your insurer · Independent findings with a clear repair scope
What is trace and access?
Trace and access is the process of finding the source of a hidden water leak and making it accessible for repair, and it’s a specific section of most buildings insurance policies. If water is coming through your ceiling or a damp patch keeps growing, your insurer will usually ask for a professional investigation before they settle an escape-of-water claim.
That’s what we do. Our leak detection engineers use thermal imaging, acoustic listening, tracer gas and moisture mapping to pinpoint the leak to within centimetres, before anything is opened up. We then document everything in a report written for insurance claims.
Does insurance cover trace and access?
Trace and access may be covered under buildings insurance, depending on the policy. We provide insurance-ready reports and evidence to support the claim. Where your policy includes trace and access cover, it typically pays towards locating the leak and the access work needed to reach it. We’ll help you understand your cover position before any work starts.
- The repair of the leaking pipe itself is often not covered (that’s usually maintenance), but the damage the water caused, and finding the leak, usually is.
- Insurers can reject or reduce claims when the leak’s source was never professionally confirmed. A proper report protects you.
- Cover limits vary. Bring us your policy wording. We’ll tell you honestly what’s likely covered before any work starts.
How our investigation team finds your leak: without the damage
- Thermal imaging: temperature traces of hot-water and heating leaks behind walls and under floors.
- Acoustic listening: the sound signature of pressurised leaks, even under concrete.
- Tracer gas: the smallest, deepest leaks: safe gas in the pipe surfaces exactly at the fault.
- Moisture mapping: calibrated readings that map how far water has travelled.
- Pressure testing: confirms which system is losing water: heating, hot or cold supply.
What’s in your trace & access report
Written to be read by loss adjusters: cause and exact location of the leak; method and instrument evidence; access works carried out and why they were necessary; moisture damage extent; repair recommendation. Written for insurers, housing authorities and managing agents.
Step by step
- Call or WhatsApp a photo: we’ll tell you straight away if it sounds like a trace & access claim.
- Survey visit: one of our engineers attends; non-invasive investigation, source confirmed.
- Written report: insurance-ready evidence pack.
- Access + repair: our repair team fixes what the investigation found (no second contractor).
- Claim support: we can speak with your insurer or adjuster directly.
Trace & access vs leak detection. What’s the difference?
Leak detection is the finding. Trace and access is the finding plus the insurance-framed process, locating, accessing, and documenting so the claim pays. If you’re claiming, you want trace & access. If you just want the leak found and fixed with no claim, see our leak detection service.
Frequently asked questions
Will my insurer pay for trace and access?
Trace and access may be covered under buildings insurance, depending on the policy. We confirm your cover position before any work starts and provide the report and evidence to support your claim.
Is the leak repair itself covered?
Often not: pipe repair is usually classed as maintenance. The finding, access and water damage usually are. We quote the repair separately and honestly.
How fast can you attend?
Call 0800 054 1524 and we will give you the earliest available appointment; urgent leaks are prioritised across London & Surrey.
Do you deal with the insurer for me?
Yes. Our reporting team can liaise with your insurer or loss adjuster and supply the evidence they ask for.
What if you can’t find the leak?
We find it. Our methods cover heating, hot/cold supply, waste and ingress, and we don’t leave until the source is confirmed and documented.
Do you do the repairs too?
Yes. Detection, access, repair and reinstatement. One company from investigation to report to repair, one bill.
Book a Trace & Access Survey 0800 054 1524
Related: Leak Detection · Insurance Reports · CCTV Drainage
Areas we cover across London & Surrey
Our engineers and surveyors work throughout South West London and Surrey. We’re based in New Malden and regularly attend Kingston, Wimbledon, Raynes Park, Worcester Park and Surbiton, as well as Putney, Wandsworth, Richmond, Twickenham, Mitcham, Sutton, Epsom and the wider London & Surrey area. Not sure if we cover you for trace & access? Call 0800 054 1524 and ask.
Request a survey or callback
Tell us what’s happening and one of our team will get back to you as soon as we can during business hours. Prefer to talk now? Call 0800 054 1524 or WhatsApp 07733 019492. Urgent leaks are prioritised across London & Surrey.
The report each of you needs
Homeowners · Landlords · Property Managers · Estate Agents · Housing Associations & Councils · Insurers
What insurers look for in a trace and access report
A trace and access claim pays for the cost of finding the leak and the making good of any opening up, not usually for the repair of the pipe itself. Insurers and adjusters therefore look for a validation report that states the cause of damage, shows the leak is sudden and accidental rather than gradual deterioration, wear and tear or a pre-existing defect, and separates the leak from any excluded cause such as failed sealant or condensation. Our reports are written with that in mind: cause, location, photographs, readings, the access that was needed and a scope of works that a contractor can turn into a schedule of works.
After the leak is found
- Strip out of wet plaster, flooring and units where they cannot dry in place, recorded with photographs
- Drying, with moisture monitoring and a drying certificate or moisture log when the insurer requires one
- Make good and reinstatement scope, separate from the pipe repair
- Where the insurer’s panel contractor is appointed, our report gives them a precise starting point
- If you have home emergency cover, check whether it includes locating the leak; many policies only cover the repair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the pipe repair covered under trace and access?
Usually not; trace and access covers finding the leak and making good the access. The resulting damage is normally a separate escape-of-water claim. Your policy wording decides.
Will the insurer say the leak is wear and tear?
They may try where the pipe is old. An independent report that shows a sudden failure, such as a pinhole or a split joint, and distinguishes it from gradual deterioration is the evidence you need.
Can you deal with the loss adjuster for me?
We provide the report and will answer the adjuster’s technical questions about our findings. We are not loss assessors and do not negotiate your claim; see for loss adjusters.
Last reviewed: 27 October 2026. Independent investigation and written reports. Repairs are quoted separately.