Have you acted to prevent burst pipes this winter?

With snow expected across Britain this week, esure home insurance is urging homeowners to take precautions to reduce the risk of burst pipes during the cold snap. The warning comes as many Brits prepare to leave their homes for Christmas, leaving pipes unused and liable to freeze.

Analysis from insurer esure of its burst pipe insurance claims shows that such an event typically causes £60,000 damage each time. In most cases, homeowners return to find that burst pipes and the resulting escape of water had brought down ceilings – causing extensive damage and losses throughout the property.

According to the report, leaving heating to come on once or twice a day may not prevent problems, because but if lofts are poorly insulated, copper pipes can still burst. Furthermore, if the water to the house is still flowing, this can cause devastation. esure explains that most central heating systems are ‘closed’, so turning the stop-cock off won’t affect them but it will prevent massive water damage if pipes burst.

Gordon Hannah, Director of Claims at esure said:

“Last winter nearly every large burst pipe claim was a tragic blueprint. Families had gone away, freezing weather had caused their pipes to burst and they returned a day or two later to the widespread destruction of their homes and personal belongings. The cost of these claims is huge but the emotional impact and inconvenience to homeowners is worse.”

“Many people think that they can’t turn the stop-cock off and leave the heating on but usually this is fine to do and it will completely prevent the source of water that can wreck a house. Homeowners should just check their heating manual to find out more about their particular system.”