alifax Home Insurance recommends home owners check their home insurance documents beforehand to ensure they know what's covered, and also warns those who tackle major work they are not qualified for risk invalidating their home insurance policy.
Last year Halifax Home Insurance recorded almost 40,000 accidental damage claims, many of which were DIY related such as spilling paint or drilling through pipes.
In total the insurer paid out almost £13 million for accidental damage, with each claim costing an average of £323 to fix. The month of May alone saw over £1 million in accidental damage claims, partly due to botched bank holiday home improvement jobs.
‘May bank holiday is a key time for home owners to dig out their tools and indulge in a spot of DIY. We'd urge those about to start a job to be aware of what their home insurance policy covers, consider accidental damage cover, and avoid taking on too much,’ said Martyn Foulds, senior claims manager, Halifax Home Insurance.
Research conducted by OnePoll last year showed that while 77% of householders would be confident enough to tackle painting, and half would attempt to put up shelves, some 11% would fit a new kitchen, and 5% would be willing to fit a new gas fire themselves, something Halifax does not recommend.
‘For more specialist jobs involving gas, electrical, plumbing or structural work, it's essential to call in the experts, otherwise homeowners risk invalidating their home insurance policy if things go awry,’ explained Foulds.
He advised home owners to contact their insurer if any work is being carried out which may alter the structure or layout of the home such as an extension or garage, and pointed out that accidental damage to some parts of the home such as sinks, baths and ceramic hobs is included in many home insurance policies but it is worth considering purchasing additional accidental damage cover to protect against common DIY mishaps such as spilling paint, drilling through pipes, or putting feet through ceilings.
Meanwhile, new research show that there is a growing DIY skills gap which means that young adults are ill equipped to do basic household maintenance tasks, relying instead on mum and dad for both advice and hands on help.
Only 38% of young people know how to do a selection of 10 basic household DIY tasks, such as putting up a shelf, changing a fuse or assembling furniture and 20% don’t have any basic tools such as a hammer, screwdriver or spanner, according to the research by Aviva.
It found that 18 to 24 year olds are up to four times less likely to be able to do a selection of basic DIY tasks than the older generation and the skills gap is most pronounced on jobs such as tiling a bathroom which only 9% of 18 to 24 year olds could complete, compared to 45% of those aged 65 and over, and fixing a leaking tap which only 14% of 18 to 24 year olds could complete compared to 42% of the older group.
But it’s not only DIY advice that grown up children are looking for. More than half, 55%, of empty nest parents with children up to the age of 40 are still being called upon to actually help with hands on home improvements in their children’s homes.
Parents spend the equivalent of nearly one hour per week carrying out home improvements for grown up children aged 20 to 40 living away from home, doing tasks that would equate to over £1,2802 per year if carried out by a professional tradesman, including garden maintenance painting and building and assembling furniture.
In addition to their time, parents fork out an average of £3,341 per year to buy materials and goods to help with their grown up children's household improvements.
'Learning how to do DIY and simple home maintenance jobs around the home are important life skills to have and it seems that the temptation to call in mum and dad for both advice and hands on help is hindering many young people from learning these skills themselves,' said Heather Smith, director of home insurance at Aviva.
'Passing down this knowledge through the generations is an important step to help young people equip themselves with the basic home maintenance skills, so they should watch and learn when dad or mum are putting up pictures or hanging shelves, and of course they can always bolster their knowledge with the vast range of advice and ‘how to’ tutorials on the internet once they’ve built up their confidence,' she added.
