Halifax Insurance advises to protect home from cold weather
As much of the UK is engulfed by heavy snow and Britain suffers the coldest winter in over 100 years, Halifax Home Insurance advises homeowners how to protect their homes from extreme weather conditions.
As the freezing temperatures hit many parts of the UK again this week, many homes are under threat from burst and leaking pipes, causing extensive damage to property including structural problems and electrical faults. Over the past two weeks (Dec 19th-Jan 4th) one in six (16%) of all home insurance claims to Halifax were for burst pipes, compared to just over one in ten (11%) claims for early December (Dec 1st-18th). The insurer anticipates a significant increase in burst pipe claims this year as the UK is gripped by what experts say could be the coldest winter in 100 years.
Senior Claims Manager Martyn Foulds says: "The average cost to repair damage caused by a burst pipe is around £2000, so it is worth ensuring the home is properly insured, taking steps to prevent frozen pipes, making sure you have adequate insurance in place and also knowing what to do to limit damage if a pipe does burst."
To prevent burst pipes
Burst pipes occur when water freezes and expands, cracking the pipes and causing them to leak when they thaw. To avoid this, insulate the loft, all water pipes and also the sides of your water tank.
If leaving the home empty in the winter for any length of time, leave the central heating on low, to avoid the pipes freezing.
Many boilers have a frost protection thermostat on them which turns on automatically if the temperature drops below a certain level. It's also worth asking a friend or trusted neighbour to check on the home now and again to ensure pipes haven't burst or frozen.
Make sure you know where your water mains stop tap is and ensure you can turn it off easily in an emergency.
If a pipe has burst
Turn off the mains water supply. This is often found under the kitchen sink or where the service pipe enters the property
Drain the water system down by running all the cold taps
Any dripping water can be caught in buckets. If the ceiling starts to bulge, drill a few small holes in it to let the water drain through
If water has been leaking for some time and the ceiling is bulging significantly, it may not be safe to enter the room
Turn off the central heating and immersion heater, and turn on the hot taps to help drain the water system
Contact your home insurer as soon as possible for further advice or to register a claim.
In an emergency:
Keep a home emergency kit prepared in case of a winter emergency such as a severe snow storm. This could include torches, spare bulbs and batteries, your home insurance documents, other emergency contact details, tinned food, warm clothing, blankets and a shovel
Listen to the radio for regular updates on the weather or other emergency situations
Customers of Halifax Home Insurance can call its 24 hour emergency helpline on 0845 602 7307 for advice.
For complete peace of mind, homeowners might want to consider further protection against common winter problems such as water leaks, gas or electricity failure, or boiler breakdown. Halifax Home Insurance offers Home Emergency Cover, which for around £4 a month guarantees a qualified, reputable tradesman to carry out emergency repairs, and provides up to £500 towards call-out charges, labour costs, parts and materials for each insured incident. It also covers for sudden and unforeseen roofing problems such as tiles blowing off during bad weather, or plumbing problems such as blocked drains.
For more tips and advice on maintaining the home, visit halifaxhomematters.co.uk. For further advice on coping with severe weather visit metoffice.gov.uk/weather/UK/advice.