Are you prepared for a winter lockdown?

With winter well and truly here and with millions of us still in lockdown, it’s more important than ever to maintain your boiler and central heating, pipes and drains and vital kitchen appliances.

It could be difficult for you to arrange your own tradesman in the event of a breakdown and there may be a potential for issues with sourcing any parts required due to the disrupted supply chains.

Having Home Emergency Cover and Appliance Insurance in place before a problem develops is crucial, so you know you’ll be covered in the event of an emergency. With most boiler breakdowns occurring in December and January of each year, according to research by boilerguide.co.uk* (12.01% and 15.56% respectively) and your appliances under more strain than normal, now’s an important time to make sure you’ve got insurance in place.

Preparing your home for winter

We’ve put together some tips below to help you get your home ready to face the winter – and the ongoing lockdown.

• Prevent your pipes from freezing by wrapping any vulnerable pipes with thermal insulation or lagging (available from most DIY stores)

• Find out where your stopcock is so if your pipes do burst, you can quickly shut off your water quickly and prevent flooding

• Bleed your radiators to make sure they’re working at their full capacity

• Keep your appliances well maintained (you can read our guides for cleaning your washing machine and dishwasher for more information)

• Take out Complete Home Emergency Cover with us; it’ll cover your boiler, heating, plumbing and drainage as well as protecting your gas supply pipe, electrics and more

• Protect your kitchen white goods with Appliance Cover; you can cover up to 10 of your most important appliances against accidental damage or mechanical/electrical breakdown

Taking out Home Emergency Insurance and Appliance Cover with Home Emergency Assist will give you the peace of mind that you’re covered by a reliable network of engineers should you suffer a home emergency or appliance breakdown.

Want to keep your heating running smoothly year-round? Discover our boiler and heating cover, or take out a Complete home emergency plan for total peace of mind. Get a quick, free quote online and find the perfect plan to keep your home cosy! Or explore our full range of plans, including plumbing and drainage, and appliance cover.

*https://www.boilerguide.co.uk/articles/uk-boiler-breakdown-study