Thursday, December 09, 2010

Protect Your Property This Winter & Opening Hours

Last year was one of the coldest winters it's been in the last 30 years and the industry saw over 60,000 household claims made with £194 million paid out in claims. Already November this year has been one of the coldest on record with plenty of snow hitting the UK, it's nice to start with but certain areas the weather has caused havoc, (in sunny Bude we've hardly had a single shower), and it's not looking to improve any time soon. Winter weather can seriously damage your home and here are some tips to help protect your home before it's too late:

1. Check all your pipes and tanks are fully lagged, one of the main winter claims is burst pipes from unlagged pipes.
2. Is your loft insulated? If it is, great, but make sure it's the recommended dimensions and also in good condition. If not, buy some insulation now, it's cheaper to buy than you think, it'll save you money by reducing your heating bills and will reduce the possibility of burst pipes.
3. Check that your heating is in good working order, if you have an open fire, should that chimney be swept.
Repair any loose or fallen of slates to reduce the risk of them falling off causing damage and stopping the elements from getting in, also clear those gutters to avoid water overflow.
4. Check doors, windows and fascias are in condition and will not allow rain to penetrate.

If you are going to be away over the winter or you have a holiday home which may be unoccupied at times read these tips:
1. If you are going away even for a night we recommend the heating is kept on at all times, don't just have the heating coming on say twice a day for a couple of hours. You could possibly also open up the loft door to allow the warm air to circulate to your pipes.
2. If you want to turn the heating off, then drain the central heating system and switch off the water supply at the mains.
3. Get a friend or family member to check the property daily. If there are any problems they can be dealt with quickly.
4. If you have a holiday home then you will probably find their are conditions in your policy which insist on tip 1 or tip 2 being undertaken through the winter.


Christmas Opening.
We will be open over the Christmas period, times and dates are below. If you cant get hold of us and you need to make a claim, for motor claims please contact Kindertons on 08456 766261 who manage all out motor claims. For all other claims on property, travel, liability we would recommend you digging out your policy booklet which will have the necessary phone numbers in them.

Friday 24th Dec 9-12.
Saturday 25th Dec Closed
Sunday 26th Dec Closed
Monday 27th Dec Closed
Tuesday 28th Dec Closed
Wednesday 29th Dec 9-12
Thursday 30th Dec 9-12
Friday 31st Dec 9-12
Saturday 1st Jan Closed
Sunday 2nd Jan Closed
Monday 3rd Jan Closed
Tuesday 4th Jan Back to normal 9-5


Hope the above tips help you this winter, thanks to all our customers, we will continue to service you the best we can again nexty year, have a great Christmas and New year, see you all soon.

No comments: