By Craig Smith

2 Property Insurance 240513

In our local newspaper this week there was a story of a family who had been awoken in the early morning hours by a fire that had started in their kitchen. Thankfully, everyone escaped unhurt and it was the kitchen that suffered most of the damage. The story itself highlights two important issues not just for homeowners but also to those in rental properties as well.

Insurance

The first is that the lady in question did not have any insurance to cover the damage caused by the fire. There are a lot of people tightening their purse strings due to the way the economy is at the moment but we cant be sure whether this is the reason in this instance. The costs of food, fuel and energy have all increased no end over the last few years so it is no wonder some people look to cut costs elsewhere.

Insurance is never an area we would recommend scrimping on as, like it has here, it can backfire dramatically. The kitchen will probably need ripping out and a complete new one going in, which is most likely to be a cost of four figures at least! Compare this to the cost of the insurance and it is easy to make a decision as to whether the insurance is worth it.

It is easy to find the right policy you need especially with the help of internet comparison sites and brokers. It is usually the responsibility of the owner or Landlord to ensure the building is covered and the tenant to cover any accidental damage.

Electrical Safety

The fire itself was started by an electric can opener that had been left switched on at the plug. This highlights the second issue of the day.

Although it may be more convenient to leave electrical goods left turned on, the fire brigade and other safety experts recommend turning them off to prevent the likelihood of fires such as this. It is also a reminder that appliances, plugs and leads should be checked for any wear, frayed edges of potential hazards. Again, we don’t know the reason why the can opener had become faulty but couple an unsafe item with lack of insurance and it could spell disaster!

Other Important Safety Factors

Lets not forget that each property should have a working smoke alarm. We still hear of so many people who have the viewpoint that it will never happen to them but it could happen to anyone! Just last year there was a fire in a property that we manage, caused by a faulty kettle of all things! It was only the fact that the smoke alarms were working correctly that the tenant was alerted so quickly, preventing the fire from getting out of hand and keeping the damage to a minimum.

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