Less than 50% of homeowners say they will be undertaking special checks or doing work on their home to ensure it is adequately prepared for the cold snap, research from Paymentshield reveals.
Homeowners in Northern Ireland topped the poll for being the best prepared to protect its houses, with 75% of respondents planning ahead for the inclement weather.
Those who live in Central England have been exposed as being the least prepared, with just 45% of respondents planning to even check their homes for vulnerabilities.
The Scots faired slightly better, with 54%, just edging out the Welsh, half of who are planning ahead.
This is despite a huge number of weather related insurance claims made each winter, with Paymentshield receiving 2,357 claims during the period between December 2011 and January 2012.
Tim Johnson, CEO of Paymentshield, said: “Taking steps to ensure your home is ‘winter ready’ need not be a mammoth task. However, now is the time to start thinking about jobs such as lagging pipes, roof repairs and clearing guttering before the bad weather really sets in.
“Homeowners should also be checking their home insurance policies to ensure they’re adequately protected and understand their cover levels. The last thing people need in the run up to the festive period is avoidable damage to their home.”
David Sansome, Managing Director at Sansome & George offers the following advice:
“With temperatures reaching very low levels it is advisable to ensure that properties are kept warm, even if vacant, in order to avoid issues such as frozen pipes. Water in frozen pipes expands and can cause flooding when a thaw takes place. Thermostats on heating systems should be set low but at a level to avoid freezing. Insulation of pipes will also help avoid problems.
If a property is set to be empty for some time over the Winter period, consider draining down water and heating systems completely in order to avoid freezing.
Condensation can be a problem during the colder months as people tend to close windows and therefore reduce the amount of ventilation available within a property. Proper insulation coupled with ventilation and heating are the best cures for condensation.
Externally, ensure that gutters, downpipes and drains are regularly cleared. Blocked gutters, downpipes and drains can cause flooding and other water related problems. Large volumes of snow can also cause flooding problems when thawing and so be careful about where one piles up snow from cleared paths and driveways in particular.
A few minutes of preventative action can save a lot of time, inconvenience and cost later on.”
