14% of adults in the UK have faced a home improvement mishap within the last three years, according to new research from Sainsbury’s Bank Home Insurance.
The bank is calling on homeowners to make sure they are not leaving themselves uninsured when it comes to making improvements to their homes.
Over Easter, 38% of people told the bank they were planning to undertake DIY work on their home or garden over the two day Easter bank holiday. With two more bank holidays to follow in May, similar levels of DIY activity could be in the offing, the bank claims.
The would be DIY-ers indicated that men were more likely to undertake the work than women, in particular carpentry (13% v 4%) and plumbing (10% v 2%).
The most common mishaps to happen when renovating include:
| Planned activity | Percentage of people who suffered a mishap |
| Flooring damaged by tools / equipment / spilled paint | 5% |
| Damage to internal walls | 3% |
| Electrical damage | 3% |
| Damage to pipes due to hammering with a nail leading to flood damage | 2% |
| Damage to sanitary goods | 2% |
| Damage to pipes due to hammering a nail, with no further damage to home | 2% |
The research findings show that of those who have undertaken renovation work at their property in the last three years, just 21% notified their insurer, and 7% only did so once the work was complete.
Those in London are most likely to have pre-warned their insurer ahead of works (41%), whilst those in East of England leave themselves most open to risk, with 9% telling their insurer they were completing work.
Karen Hogg, head of insurances at Sainsbury’s Bank, said: “We’re a nation of DIY lovers and many of us will be planning some home or garden work over the coming weeks.
“Our research shows that just under a quarter of people undertaking work had notified their insurer, which may lead to them being uninsured.”