Weather Warnings
Talking about the weather used to be a simple British pastime, but these days it’s no longer smalltalk.
Home Emergency Insurance for £130
- ✓ Covered up to £1,000 per emergency
- ✓ £250 for overnight accomodation
- ✓ Call out, labour & parts included
While we’ve often rolled our eyes at the impact a simple change of seasons can have on the reliable running of our transport systems, the weather across the world is taking a darker, more dangerous turn.
In many British towns, winter flooding has become an annual occurrence, with loss of life and severe destruction of property around Christmas and New Year becoming the norm.
Thanks to climate change, extreme weather looks like it’s here to stay. As well as flooding, we also need to think about the steady increase in temperature. While this may raise your eyebrows after our damp squib of a summer, the global temperature is on the rise. Scientists have warned that UK summers have been warmer, wetter and sunnier than the last century, which is not ideal.
Is the outlook bleak?
The UK is lucky enough to boast many older properties. Some can date back several hundreds of years, meaning they are completely ill-equipped for 21st century weather, which is becoming increasingly extreme.
So where does this leave us? Whether you are a homeowner or a tenant, you will be affected and it’s something you need to bear in mind when you are buying your home.
Make sure to do your research, especially if moving to a completely new area that you’re not familiar with. Check local news to see if there were any severe weather disasters in recent years and speak to neighbours and locals to find out what you can expect to encounter through the year.
As a landlord, it’s worth bearing in mind that tenants will be doing their due diligence about your property. If you own somewhere that is likely to flood, even if it hasn’t flooded before, this is something to bear in mind.
Take a brolly with you
When it comes to your possessions, you should hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
Whether you’re a tenant or a homeowner, contents insurance will at least give you peace of mind, knowing that your contents are replaceable. However, there will be items that are completely irreplaceable.
Be sure to make digital copies of important documents like birth certificates and digitise your photographs regularly, if you still use traditional film. Try to store treasured possessions up as high as you can, so that in the event of something like a flood, you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that irreplaceable items are more likely to be safe and recoverable.
If you are investing in property, either as your first home or to rent out, Home Emergency Insurance is imperative. People tend to sink all – or the majority of – their savings into home purchases. Without insurance, if there were an emergency, whether fire, flood or random act of God – you would have to rely on whatever savings you might have.
Dial your protection up to factor 50
The same goes for Contents Insurance , even if you’re not a homeowner. If you’re a renter, you make your rental house your homes. If you rent unfurnished, you’ll have spent a significant amount on large pieces of furniture like beds, sofas and bookcases. That’s before you calculate the total spent on kitchenware and gadgets.
Even if you rent a furnished home, it’s likely that you personally own a good television, computers, tablets, smartphones… You might even have invested in a top-of-the-range bicycle. You wouldn’t hit the road without car insurance, so don’t lock your door on an uninsured home!
Contents insurance will cover you for any eventuality and as we edge into the time of year when burglaries go up – thanks to darker evenings and the increasing likelihood of expensive Christmas presents – if you haven’t got it now, treat yourself!
