Home & Contents Insurance Tips & Advice

Roof Maintenance

Often neglected, your roof protects you and your home from the elements. Neglecting the proper maintenance of your roof can lead to inconvenience, financial outlay, and potentially some serious damage to your home.

Essential roof maintenance includes making sure your guttering is clear of leaves, twigs and other debris that can cause blockages. These blockages prevent rainwater from draining away and will lead to water pooling on your roof. It's advisable to clean your gutters at least once a year.

We all know that severe weather conditions can cause serious damage to our roofs. Strong winds and gales cause slates and tiles to become dislodged or blow off completely. If you see anything suspicious, for example pieces of broken slate lying around in the garden then ask a professional to check this out for you straight away.

We can help by:

Fires

House fires can be devastating. A fire can spread very quickly and become deadly within minutes.

To ensure that you take every precaution to avoid a house fire, make sure that all cigarette butts and used matches are disposed of properly and don’t smoke in bed. Keep all lighters and matches safely out of reach of babies and children.

Be careful of loose clothing and materials near fireplaces, heaters and candles. Never leave a candle unattended and ensure that they are properly extinguished.

Don’t overload electrical circuits and check appliances regularly for loose connections or damaged cords.

Make sure that you have smoke detectors installed in areas throughout the house and especially near your bedroom. Check your smoke detectors regularly and replace the batteries at least once a year.

Make sure that you have an emergency escape plan for the family and make sure that possible escape routes aren’t obstructed.

We can help by:

Home Security

Last year, 5,199 people were burgled because they didn't lock their front door (Source: http://www.met.police.uk/crimeprevention/burglary.htm)

It's easy to leave your front door unlocked, especially when you're in a hurry or distracted. Most burglars are opportunistic - they look for an easy way to get in that won't take long or arouse suspicion, so many try the front door first.

Don’t leave side gates or accessible windows open. Also don’t leave ladders out allowing access to otherwise inaccessible windows or leave garden tools out that can be used to force entry to your home.

Install a house alarm and ensure that this is visible as it acts as a deterrent to thieves. Also avoid making it obvious that nobody is at home by leaving mail in the letterbox or milk bottles and parcels on the doorstop. If you’re away on holiday you could enlist the help of a trusted neighbour to take in the mail and you can buy timers for your lights so that they come on automatically in the evening.

Finally never leave a spare key in a convenient hiding place as this will be the first thing that thieves will look for.

We can help by:

Water leaks & floods in the home

Firstly, you should make sure you know how to switch off the mains water supply. You can usually find this under your kitchen sink or in your garage. It’s essential to know where this is in case you experience a burst water supply.

You should also make sure that your cold water tank is insulated and lag your pipes with rubber insulation.

Your central heating system also helps to stop your pipes and tanks freezing so it’s important to maintain a warm and constant temperature throughout the house. Keeping your central heating on low when on holiday will help prevent situations like returning home and finding your pipes have frozen or burst.

We can help by:

As with all insurance policies there are certain circumstances when you will not be able to make a claim, known as exclusions. You can read full details of the exclusions which apply in our Policy Document.