- Specialist insurer says skimping on household maintenance is a false economy and can increase risk of fire or flood
London, UK – Hiscox, the specialist insurer, has today published its top safety tips urging householders that despite the recession, they should beware the false economies that could put their house and its contents at risk. The continued use of older household appliances such as tumble dryers or washing machines for example not only cost more to run but are leading to an increased number of insurance claims for fire and flooding says Hiscox. Running appliances overnight to take advantage of ‘cheaper’ electricity while the household’s occupants are asleep, can also be potentially dangerous if something goes wrong and a fire or flood occurs.
At this festive time, investing in LED replacements for older style fairy lights can also make sense. Older bulb lights get hot, and if one bulb blows, the increased electricity to the remaining bulbs could be enough to start a fire, particularly if the tree they’re placed on has dried out. Again, Hiscox has experienced recent fire claims attributable to old fairy lights.
Alan Thomas, Household Underwriter, at Hiscox commented: “Sometimes you need to spend a little to save much more and with household appliances this is certainly the case. Even though times are tough, every householder should think about whether they have taken the necessary precautions to prevent a damaging and costly incident, not to mention the personal hazard of suffering a fire or flood.”
Hiscox’s top household safety tips
- Don’t put off upgrading those old household appliances
- upgrading washing machines and dishwashers can help reduce the fire and flood risk to your home as well as costing less to run
- it is a good time to purchase new appliances by taking advantage of credit crunch deals and discount
- Don’t run household appliances at night
- taking advantage of cheaper electricity can be a false economy even if your night time rate is cheaper (you should check with your utility provider as this is not always the case). If something goes wrong with the appliance at night while you’re asleep, the risk to you from fire and flood is substantially increased
- Install a water alert appliance
- if you get to a water leak quickly the damage to your home will be significantly reduced. Installing a water alert can monitor any changing water pressure, caused by a leak for example, in the system and automatically turn off the water supply to the house. For houses left empty for long periods of time such as holiday homes, this is even more critical. Hiscox is seeing an increased number of flood claims in relation to the use of ‘click together’ plastic water pipes as opposed to the more traditional copper plumbing.
And over the festive period:
- Upgrade fairy lights
- at this time of year, digging out old fairy lights can lead to an increased fire risk. Upgrade to more modern LED lights; they’ll use less electricity too
- If you’re going away this Christmas
- you might want to save money on energy costs but don’t be tempted to switch the heating off completely. Running the heating for an hour a day will keep your pipes from freezing and prevent burst pipes and extensive damage to your home
- keeping your lights on a timer will deter the thieves while your house is left empty
Ends
For further information please contact:
About Hiscox
Hiscox, headquartered in Bermuda, is an international specialist insurance group listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:HSX). There are three main underwriting parts of the Group – Hiscox Global Markets, Hiscox UK and Europe, and Hiscox International. Hiscox Global Markets underwrites mainly internationally traded business in the London Market – generally large or complex business which needs to be shared with other insurers or needs the international licences of Lloyd’s. Hiscox UK and Hiscox Europe offer a range of specialist insurance for professionals and business customers, as well as high net worth individuals. Hiscox International includes operations in Bermuda, Guernsey and USA. Hiscox Insurance Company Ltd, Hiscox Underwriting Ltd, Hiscox ASM Ltd and Hiscox Syndicates Ltd are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
For further information, visit www.hiscox.com