The insurance sector is facing a hefty bill from storm St Jude that battered much of the south of the country last month. While it’s unlikely to be as bad as the non-hurricane forecast by Michael Fish back in 1987 which cost insurers £2bn, the final bill is likely to run into many hundreds of millions.
The most common types of claims resulting from St Jude have been roof tiles blow off, damage to TV aerials and satellite dishes, breakage of glass and damage due to falling trees – however some homeowners may not get the positive response they expect upon contacting their insurer to make a claim. They have a duty of care to maintain their homes and if an insurer deems that a claim could have or indeed should have been avoided had the homeowner sufficiently maintained their property, they may scale down or even reject the claim.
Recent research from Halifax Home Insurance revealed that 11% of homes are in need of major repairs and 50% require minor works.
The report found that homeowners are more likely to complete small cosmetic jobs such as painting and decorating (86%) rather than undertaking maintenance such as cleaning gutters (55%) or repairing fittings and cracks (63%) despite the fact these have far greater impact if not done.
A few simple MOT checks could save a lot of future pain, for example:
• Cleaning out gutters as blocked gutters and down spouts can cause enormous damage if water is left to overflow and penetrate the structure
• Checking roofs for cracked, loose or slipped tiles – a leaking roof can result in costly damage and if a tile slips off or is blown off, it could badly injure a passerby or a car or other property
• Touching up cracked, peeling or blistered paintwork to preserve wooden frames from damage
• Ensuring that any trees on the property aren’t rotten or damaged and digging out any paperwork from tree surgeons to prove that due care has been taken to maintain them
• Cutting back climbing plants such as ivy so they don’t damage brickwork or render and ensure they’re not getting on to the roof
Home Emergency cover could provide a viable alternative to claiming against a home insurance policy for some emergencies such as blocked external drains within the boundaries of the property. The call-out to fix problems such as this can be as nasty a surprise as the emergency itself. Either as a standalone or additional option to home insurance, home emergency cover can deal with the cost of call out charges, repair bills or material costs if the worse happens.
While the first storms of winter have abated, initial long-range forecasts warn of record-breaking snowfall as early as this month and below-average temperatures possibly lingering until February. Intermediaries would do well to remind their clients to give their homes an annual maintenance MOT particular as the Halifax research indicated that more than a quarter of people are unaware of what is and isn’t covered by their home insurance policy.
A few simple checks could help identify any maintenance issues before they become a real problem and possibly cost the home owner dear.
Kevin Paterson is managing director of Source Insurance
Twitter: @SourceInsurance