As the white blanket of snow sweeps across the country, leading insurance specialist www.GetCover.ie has advised homeowners to play their part in preventing damage to their homes this Christmas and has outlined the primary precautionary measures that should be taken.
“There are approximately 39,000 households in Mayo and last year’s cold snap caused massive damage to homes across the county and it looks like we could be in for a similar frosty Christmas,” said Louise Ledwidge, household insurance manager with www.getcover.ie “We experienced a huge increase in claims last winter due to weather damage to people’s homes which was disastrous, but what was worse was that most of the damage was avoidable by following a few simple steps. We are concerned for the welfare of homeowners in terms of damage to their property, but also for consumers in general because if the insurance industry is hit with huge amounts of claims similar to last year, premiums may well increase again in 2011 – something which nobody wants to see happening.”
According to the insurance specialist many household water pipes froze last year due to inadequate insulation and when they burst the damage was significant.
“Ensuring your pipes are properly insulated is a must this winter,” Ms Ledwidge added. “In addition, you need to make sure your water tank is properly lagged. If have any concerns as to whether your water tanks or pipes are properly insulated make sure you speak to the relevant contractor.”
In addition, adequate attic insulation is advised to prevent heat from escaping through the roofs of people’s homes, as well as proper insulation around doors and windows to keep draughts out and heat in. This will save people money on fuel costs in the long run.
“One of the worst things that can happen is that your water pipes might freeze and then burst. Homeowners will want to avoid this at all costs. Water damage could mean that you need to refit your house from top to bottom at enormous expense,” Ms Ledwidge advised.
Proper protection during cold spells when a property is left unoccupied for more than 12 hours involves leaving the attic hatch open, allowing the heat to circulate up into the attic, and making sure that your heating comes on for a few hours during the day and at night
“Another thing we are advising our customers is that if they are going away this winter to make sure you turn off your water at the mains, empty your tank, and leave your taps open, and also make sure to turn off the heating in this circumstance including immersion heaters, etc,” Ms Ledwidge concluded. “We are receiving an increased number of calls in recent weeks from people worried about the adverse affects of this cold weather and we are happy to talk to any of our customers in Mayo who may have concerns and advise them of the action that they should and can take.”
