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Home insurance - Tips & Advice - Home maintenance
We often hear reports that winters may be getting colder. It’s therefore even more important to make sure that you and your property are prepared for the freeze. The good news is, as long as you keep your side of the bargain and give your pipes and heating equipment a regular MOT, Direct Line has a range of cover that can help you prepare for those home emergencies – and for members of Direct Line Home Response 24, that means having expert trades people on hand, 365 days a year…
Wise up to winter
If you’ve ever needed to call a plumber out in the middle of the night for a burst water pipe caused by freezing weather, you’ll know it can be hugely expensive – causing over £250 million-worth of home damage and related trauma in the UK every year.
Getting practical
Hard frosts can lead to burst pipes, so make sure these and tanks in the loft space are lagged. Find your main stopcock and make sure you can turn it on and off. Repair any dripping taps, check your loft insulation is thick enough and in good condition, and make sure your boiler is regularly serviced by a CORGI professional at the required intervals. Remember, if you do need to make a claim with Direct Line, as with all Home Insurance, part of your contract is to make sure everything is well maintained – for more details you can check the terms of your policy.
And if I go away?
If you leave the house for a few days in frosty or cold weather, maintain at least a low level of background heat, day and night. A master thermostat, which switches the heating on automatically if temperatures drop below 5ºC only costs £50 to install and will reduce bills.
During longer absences – more than a week – it is wise and more cost-effective to shut the system down completely. This means turning off all mains stopcocks, switching off the system’s controls and draining down pipes, toilets and radiators until they are dry. The loft door should also be left open so that warm air can circulate up to the roof.
Making sure that you have adequate home and contents insurance for the period you will be away is also vital – standard Direct Line Home Insurance covers for up to 60 consecutive days away. If in doubt, check before you go.
In an emergency…
Direct Line estimates that the average water escape claim comes to £731, yet amazingly around 12 per cent of homeowners find themselves in an emergency, without insurance, every year. If pipes do freeze, turn off the water supply immediately, drain the system by running the cold taps and flushing the toilet, and thaw frozen pipes with a hairdryer or hot water bottle. You can then turn everything on and check for leaks. If something does burst, Direct Line can process your claim quickly and efficiently. For added protection, Home Response 24 can cover your plumbing and drainage emergencies for call-outs, parts and labour for up to £1,000 per emergency. And, of course, if there is a bigger flood caused by outside or environmental factors – something that is becoming increasingly frequent in the UK – your Direct Line Home Insurance or water board should be able to cover you for this. If such damage does occur, contact both immediately.
For more advice on how to prepare your pipes and protect your premium...
www.thameswater.co.uk
www.plumbingpages.com
www.britishgasnews.co.uk
www.iphe.org.uk/consumer/plumbemergency.html
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