Blog Post

Keep Your Home Safe & Dry

Ian Holmes • 20 December 2018

A Useful Guide





Water leakages are one of the most common causes of Household insurance claims and can cause a huge inconvenience to home owners.

Water can travel long distances and go undetected for some time, meaning even a minor escape has the potential to cause major damage to a Building and Household contents. Common causes of leaks include the failure of household appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers, frozen or burst pipes, leaking radiators, together with blocked guttering and down pipes.

For information on how you can prevent water leakages, please find attached our Escape of Water guide .

Water Leaks are especially common throughout the winter months but by taking the following precautions your customers can minimise, or prevent, an escape of water and the subsequent damage to their premises.

1. General preparations
Routine building inspections should be carried out year-round to identify potential issues, and during Autumn special attention should be given to areas such as roof insulation, pipe lagging, boiler maintenance and the external fabrics of the building.

2. Boiler systems
Always leave boilers and other water heating systems running during winter months, even when a property is temporarily unoccupied. Maintaining an ambient temperature is essential for avoiding many issues - we recommend maintaining a minimum temperature of 10 degrees Celsius throughout your properties.

3. Pipes and water tanks
Inspect the whole system for potential defects or vulnerabilities, paying particular attention to areas exposed to cold conditions such as pipes or tanks situated outside the property or in roof spaces.

4. Sprinkler systems
Ensure the heating is present in the sprinkler valve room and it is kept at an ambient temperature. Check when the sprinkler system was last serviced and, during winter months, switch the alternate systems to air.

5. Permanently unoccupied properties
If permanently unoccupied, we recommend disconnecting the property's water supplies and draining all pipes, tanks and heating systems. However, if only temporarily unoccupied, heating systems should always be left on to maintain an ambient temperature to help avoid freezing or cracking.

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