The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has reminded householders to make sure they are fully prepared for any freezing weather which could strike over the millennium holiday period. Last winter, claims for burst pipe damage cost household insurers £181 million – over £1.2 million every winter day.

In its "Cold Weather Code", ABI advises homeowners planning to leave their property empty (even just overnight) during winter to:

• Leave your heating on while you are away from home. In severe weather, or if severe weather is forecast, you should always leave your heating on day and night at your usual temperature setting – whether you are at home or not.

• Open your loft trap door. This allows warm air from other parts of the house to circulate in the loft and will help prevent pipes freezing.

• Ask a friend or relative to visit your home every day while you are away. This will mean that, if you do suffer a burst pipe, it will be detected as soon as possible, and the damage caused will be minimised.

 

Homeowners staying put are also at risk. ABI’s advises them to:

• Find your main stopcock and make sure you can turn it on and off.

• Make checking your lagging one of your New Year’s resolutions! All pipes and tanks in loft spaces, and anywhere else which could be liable to freezing, should be fully lagged.

• If pipes do freeze, turn your water off at the main stopcock and thaw them with a hairdryer or hot water bottle.

• If a pipe has burst, turn off the water at the main stopcock, switch off your central heating and any other water heating installations, open all the taps to drain the system, and make sure professional repairs are carried out before you turn anything back on.

• Keep contact details for your insurance company helpline near your phone. Insurers’ helplines will be open as usual, 24 hours a day, all the way through the Christmas and millennium period.

 

Mary Francis, ABI’s Director General, says:

"If you’re planning to be away for even part of the long millennium holiday, make sure your home is properly protected. Freezing weather often strikes over the New Year period, and coming home to burst pipes and flood damage would not be the best start to a new century, especially when it could, in many cases, so easily be avoided with a few, simple precautions."

 

Claims for burst pipes will not be affected by millennium policy wordings. Even if the burst is caused indirectly by a millennium-related failure – for example a malfunctioning heating system – the claim would not be excluded.

In general, the position for household insurance is that:

• Your policy will not cover individual items which malfunction at the millennium. For example, if your video recorder does not recognise certain dates, you will not be able to claim on your home contents policy for a new one. (Some of these individual items may be covered on certain extended warranty/mechanical breakdown policies, though.)

• But if that malfunction had further consequences which caused damage to the structure or contents of your home, the cost of repairing that damage would be met under either a buildings or contents policy.

• If a millennium-related failure stopped your intruder alarm system from working properly and you were burgled, your theft claim would also be covered, provided you had complied with the normal conditions of your policy.

Notes

1. Enquiries to:

Suzanne Moore 020 7216 7411 (Mobile: 07712 841183)

Malcolm Tarling 020 7216 7410 (Home: 020 8297 9510)

2. An ISDN line is available for broadcasts.