11 August 2011
If you take some simple precautions before you go away on holiday you can reduce the risk of coming home to a domestic disaster such as water leaks, pest infestations or power failure. Over eight million Britons have previously come back from holiday to domestic disasters like these.
With the summer holidays underway, homeowners are advised to take precautions before they leave home. Over eight million Britons (17%) have previously come back from holiday to a domestic disaster such as water leaks, pest infestations or power failure, according to new research from the AA's Home Emergency Response Service. The findings reveal that Brits collectively face an annual bill of £228 million to repair the damage caused by domestic disasters while they are away on their summer break.
With water leaks being the most common problem, it's ironic that only 18% of homeowners turn off the water stopcock before they head off on holiday.
A third inadvertently attract pests by not wiping up crumbs or ensuring there are no food leftovers lying around before they set off. And half the population do not leave a spare key with a neighbour.
Sorting out many of these holiday disasters is not covered by normal home insurance policies. Home emergency cover could prove to be invaluable
Tom Stringer, head of AA HER
Householders had home emergency cover in place to rectify the problem in only 9% of cases. 45% of disasters have had to be dealt with by the homeowners themselves, while 13% called a tradesman in, and 24% were resolved by their home insurance company.
Tom Stringer, head of the AA's Home Emergency Response Service, said: "The summer holiday is a key time of the year when we all want to be able to go away and relax. If you take a few simple precautions such as turning off the water at the stop cock and making sure all food is either thrown or put away, you are much more likely to be equally relaxed when you get back from your break.
"Sorting out many of these holiday disasters is not covered by normal home insurance policies. Home emergency cover could prove to be invaluable, whether the situation requires sending out a locksmith because the house keys are still buried somewhere on a beach in Lanzarote, or a plumber to deal with the burst pipe which has spent the last two weeks dripping water through the house."
Proportion of people who have been affected by each issue as a percentage of people coming home from holiday to any type of disaster