Household insurance and the importance of maintenance

February 7, 2024

After at least 10 named storms battered the UK during the autumn and winter seasons, it makes sense that the month of March is typically the time to repair and maintain your home after the winter’s assault and as the weather transitions from spring to summer.

And it’s not just a question of seasonal good sense – your home insurance depends on you maintaining the dwelling in a good state of repair. If you don’t, you could be invalidating your cover.

So let’s take a look at the kind of maintenance schedule that would now help to keep your home in a good state of repair:

Rainwater goods

• this is the term given to things such as all the gutters, downpipes, and drains that help to guide rainwater away from your building and safely to waste;

• in the high winds, storms, and lashing rain of the recent winter, those rainwater channels have almost certainly become clogged with all manner of debris such as leaves and twigs;

• water gets dammed up against the debris and – with no safe escape – threatens the ingress of damaging damp into the structure and fabric of your home;

• during cold spells, the water trapped in gutters and downpipes may have frozen – the expansion that occurred might then have created gaps through which squirrels and other vermin could enter the roof space of your home;

Garden

• if you are lucky enough to have one, the garden probably presents the most obvious ravages of winter – fallen branches and other debris might be blocking paths amidst the persistent growth of weeds in spring’s first sunlight;

• here, your maintenance schedule is not a simple question of appearances, though, because that new growth of weeds can open up cracks in paths, driveways, and patios that rupture your drains and let water seep back towards the foundations of your house;

Roof

• the roof bore the brunt of all those winter storms – and in the aftermath, there are likely to be at least some dislodged or missing slates or tiles;

• these need to be replaced, of course, before the ingress of further water causes damage within the roof space or the walls;

• during your inspection, also look for cracked or broken slates or tiles – over time, these can let in the water and present just as big a problem as those that are missing altogether;

Smoke detectors

• it’s not that any smoke detectors in your home are likely to have been working that much harder during the winter months but now is a good time to double-check that you are carrying out the necessary maintenance of these potentially life-saving devices;

• the main thing, of course, and unless they are hard-wired, is to make sure that the batteries retain sufficient charge to make them work, so check them at least once a month. It is also recommended that smoke alarm units are replaced every ten years as well;

• if you are the landlord of the property, of course, you have a legal obligation to install and regularly check the operation of smoke alarms (and any carbon monoxide detectors that may be required).

March can mark a real milestone in your care for the home. As the worst storms of winter begin to subside, now is the time to make timely repairs and schedule maintenance tasks.