Burst Pipes - Be Aware! Make sure you have adequate Home Insurance

HOME OWNERS FACE £600,000,000 WINTER DAMAGES BILL

66% of Households still have no Home Insurance

Met Office predicts the coldest winter for 30 years

Cover Direct, one of the UK's leading home insurance intermediaries, is warning that thousands of homes are at risk from burst pipes as the Met Office predicts the coldest winter for 30 years. Cover Direct is advising consumers to take extra care with pipes, ensuring they are sufficiently insulated, particularly if they are in an unheated area such as a loft. Water expands by 10% as it freezes and Cover Direct believes that many households could face the nightmare of a burst pipe. For the 66% of households without home insurance¹, this can be a costly disaster.

Cover Direct Home Insurance

Andrew Lee, Chief Executive, Cover Direct, "We estimate that the bad weather could cause over £600 million of damage this winter², a lot of which will be due to frozen pipes."

"Anyone who has experienced a burst pipe knows how much damage it can cause to your home, wrecking fittings and fixtures as well as contents. Waterlogged carpets and furniture can take days to dry out, and if the water reaches a house's electrics you may have to turn the power off until the water dries and the system is checked by an electrician. This could be devastating for the 66% of households who do not have home insurance."

Make sure you have adequate home insurance, buildings insurance and contents insurance so that you are ready for winter.

Ask Cover Direct for a cheap home insurance quote now.

How to avoid a Burst Pipe?

• All pipes should be sufficiently insulated and lagged
• Water tanks should be fitted with overflow pipes, which terminate at a place of safety outside of the building
• Repair dripping taps and faulty ball valves
• In frosty weather, leave plugs in sinks. Otherwise water from dripping taps will freeze in the pipes
• Stop draughts and keep the house warm
• Find your stop tap and make sure it works
• If you're going away, it might be wise to leave the heating on at a low level. If you do leave the heating off, get a plumber to drain the heating and water system of the entire property to prevent frost damage
• If you are going away ask someone to look after the house
• And, just in case, keep the name and number of a plumber handy, ideally one registered with the Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineers.

¹ - Insurance Pocket Book 2004.
² - Meteorologists are predicting the worst weather in 30 years. The winter of 1981/2 caused loses of £602 million at today’s prices.