Umbrella and house symbol. You property in safety.Home insurance claims as a result of weather damage during the winter have doubled over the past three years, according to M&S Money. The total cost of damage is now over £600 million a year.
Insurance may be invalid if homeowners don’t carry out preparations for winter weather and the research from M&S suggests that less than a third of homeowners have done anything – such as checking for loose tiles or clearing chimneys – before the bad weather sets in.
Overall, the most common damage during the winter season is caused by wind, but in the last couple of years snow and heavy rain has been a real problem for homeowners.
The average cost to repair storm damage is nearly £600, although some claims run into tens of thousands of pounds. While many homeowners will have sufficient home insurance to cover the cost of damages, around 30 per cent of households aren’t covered, either because no policy is in place or the claim has been invalidated due to a lack of basic maintenance.
M&S Money also highlights that other common winter hazards around the home include burst pipes; which have escalated in the last couple of years with freezing winter conditions, and chimney fires caused by neglected and dirty chimneys.
Fleur Carruthers, home insurance manager at M&S Money, said: “We recommend homeowners make time over the next couple of weeks to check their homes are in a good state of repair and ready for winter. Carrying out basic maintenance can prevent damage from occurring, and should the worst happen, ensure a claim is valid.”
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