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6th December 2019

Home Owners – Don’t Get Caught Out By A Cold Snap Protect Your Pipes This Winter

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snowy street

Protect your home this winter – don’t get caught out by a cold snap

As the winter weather sets in, Cover4insurance is advising all customers to act now and get ready for the winter so that they don’t get caught out by frozen or burst pipes this year. Last year the ABI reported that the “Beast from the East led to a tenfold increase in claims for burst pipes in comparison to the previous year caused by the bad weather.

In 2018 the average cost for a burst pipe claim was over £10,000 meaning not only is a burst pipe extremely inconvenient it can cause a lot of expensive damage to your property.

At Cover4Insurance we believe prevention is better than the cure so in order to reduce the risk or frozen/burst pipes this winter you should:

  • Set your heating to come on at regular intervals or a set temperature so that it comes on automatically if the temperature drops.
  • If you are going away make sure you set the timer.
  • If you have water pipes or tanks in your loft then ensure that they are well insulated. Energy Trust provides some useful advice.
  • Locate where your stopcock is, that turns off the incoming water supply and test that it works. The most common place is under the kitchen sink. In the event that you can't find it, ask a neighbour or seek advice from an approved plumber. 
  • To help prevent water from freezing ensure all dripping taps are repaired ASAP.

My pipes are frozen what do I do?

  • Go to your stopcock and turn the water mains off immediately. Then wait for the pipes to heat up. You could try and speed up the process of them thawing out by placing a hot water bottle next to the pipes.
  • Do not try to remove any ice with a hammer or melt the ice with a blow torch, as this will more than likely cause further damage.
  • Move any belongings, for example, furniture or clothing, away from the frozen pipes in order to prevent them from being damaged if the pipes burst.
  • Contact your insurer claims numbers should be located in your policy documents with many insurers operating a 24-hour helpline. They will provide advice on what to do next.

What should I do if my pipes burst?

Step 1:

  • Turn off the water mains off via the stopcock.
  • Turn off central heating and any other water heating systems.
  • Turn on all taps to drain the system.

Step 2:

  • In order to prevent any further damage, move any belongings to a safe dry place, for example, furniture, clothing etc.

Step 3:

  • Contact your insurer claims numbers should be located in your policy documents with many insurers operating a 24-hour help line. They will advise you on the next step and help arrange any repairs that are needed as a result of the burst pipes to be carried out.

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