Insurance news
Billions lost due to accidents at home
20 March, 2007
Easter might be a traditional weekend for painting and decorating, but Churchill are urging people to make sure they have adequate insurance before they climb that 10ft ladder
DIY can prove more costly than you’d think as research reveals that Brits have £2.6 billion worth of accidents each year while sorting out their home, after falling foul of true ‘DIY disasters’.
A fifth of householders have accidentally damaged their home or its contents whilst trying to carry out some DIY, with one in ten causing this type of damage at least once before. Another ten per cent admit that they have damaged their home on two or more occasions in the past year as they attempt risky DIY.
The average accidental damage claim costs £540, not a small sum, yet not all policies have the same levels of cover. Churchill urges homeowners to check this before they embark on any crazy home improvements, as it could even be an optional extra they’ve never thought to include.
The most common DIY mishaps amongst accident-prone Brits are:
- Falling off a ladder and breaking furniture
- Spilling paint on the carpet and/or the furniture
- Getting white spirit on the sofa
- Dropping a hammer onto a glass table
- Drilling into a water pipe
- Hammering a nail into an electric cable
Over half of all homeowners admit that they’re rubbish at DIY and household maintenance, with 79 per cent wishing that they were better. A fifth blame it on not having enough time to learn the necessary skills properly, but 18 per cent hang their heads and concede that they ‘simply can’t get the hang of it.’
Bookmark with:
