A Christmas Insurance Claim? No, Thank You!

Christmas is, as they say, one of the most magical times of the year. Although if you have to make a Christmas insurance claim, you might not agree.

Unsurprisingly, the 25th sees a 12% spike in callouts compared to the monthly average. Director of Property Claim Assist, Gary Rogers, explains: “Property insurance claims tend to spike over the winter months, which is largely due to the dangers of cold temperatures and the impacts of harsher conditions.”

Christmas insurance claim

To make sure your Christmas is filled with nothing but joy, we’ve listed the most common accidents that occur over the festive period and given our top tips on how to avoid them.

5 Common Christmas Insurance Claims & How to Avoid Them

Faulty Fairy Lights

85% of UK households have a Christmas tree each year, with most choosing to get into the festive spirit by decorating theirs with twinkling lights. Although seemingly harmless, the potential danger of faulty fairy lights should never be ignored. In 2018, indoor Christmas lights were responsible for 10% of all festive related fires. In addition, recent statistics indicate that over 350 people in the UK visited A&E after home accidents involving Christmas lights.

Christmas Lights Safety Advice

Our first piece of advice to avoid a blaze is to consider your Christmas tree lights.

  • Check they conform to the British Standard (BS EN 60598). In general, fairy lights conforming to this standard are very safe. Bear in mind, that because fairy lights can become hot, they can be a potential fire hazard when placed in close proximity to combustible materials (like real Christmas trees as they dry out!).

  • Check you are not plugging in your fairy lights to an already heavily loaded socket. This will reduce the chance of your fairy lights overloading the socket and starting a fire.

  • Consider using battery operated fairy lights rather than mains plug in ones. Battery operated lights run at a very low voltage making them extremely safe for use.

Whichever fairy lights you use, make sure you switch them off (at the mains if they are plug-in lights) when leaving the house or going to bed. Although this seems like common sense, in 2018, 5.4 million people admitted to leaving their Christmas lights on all night. The twinkling tree lights might add to the holiday spirit, but leaving them on just isn’t worth the risk of having to file a lengthy Christmas insurance claim.

Naked Flames

There’s nothing quite like flickering candles, a cup of tea (or glass of bubbly!) and snuggling up to watch your favourite festive film to set the mood for Christmas. However, any naked flame will naturally pose a fire risk to your home.

One of the most common causes of candle fires is when the flame accidently comes into contact with a highly flammable material or fabric. If you’re not in the room when trouble strikes, the chances are that the room – if not more – will be affected by the fire damage. It can take less than a minute. (In fact, we have personal experience of a candle fire, which started during the couple of minutes the householder had left the room to make a hot drink).

Don’t let a candle be the cause of a Christmas insurance claim. Instead follow our advice:

Candle Safety Advice

  • Don’t leave a candle unattended once lit.

  • Fit a smoke alarm in a room in which you are using candles, particularly if this is a regular habit. Once fitted, make sure you regularly test/replace batteries.

  • Don’t position a candle close to any material that could catch fire.

  • Only ever place candles on a heat-resistant surface.

For a full list of top tips for candle safety, click here.

Burst Pipes

If the temperature drops to below freezing, pipes are often the first to bear the brunt. In fact, in 2019-2020, 87% of all Admiral’s escape of water claims came from burst or leaking pipes.

How to Avoid a Burst Pipe

  • Insulate pipes and water tanks.

  • Leave your heating on – set your thermostat to 12-15 C when you’re away from the property. The warm air will help to stop internal pipes freezing.

  • Open cabinet doors – this will allow warm air to circulate around pipes under sinks or in the attic.

Falling Through the Ceiling

No… we’re not talking about Santa here! At the beginning and end of the month, most of us venture into the loft to bring down or store our Christmas decorations. But remember to be careful where you tread! If you accidentally stumble, you may end up putting a foot through the floor. This is actually much more common than you might think! According to Aviva, during December and January 2016-2020, 11 people put their feet through ceilings while getting Christmas decorations from their lofts!

To prevent a fall being the reason you file a Christmas insurance claim, always be prepared. Take care to only step on joists if you don’t have proper floorboards.

Forgotten Food

Good food on Christmas day is a must. But after a glass or two of your favourite wine, it’s easy to forget about what’s in the oven. Between December and January 2016-2020, Aviva dealt with 6 cookers that were destroyed while cooking Christmas dinner, with pans and pots dropped on hobs and hard-working ovens catching fire.

Our advice? Leave the cooking to those who are most aware and set alarms to remind you when food needs to come out of the oven!

Dealing with a Christmas Insurance Claim

Going through a property insurance claim at any time of year is stressful, but perhaps even more so at Christmas. By helping to make you aware of the most common home insurance claims over the festive period, we hope that you can sit back and enjoy your holiday.

If you do suffer property damage this Christmas, know that we’re always on hand to help. At Property Claim Assist, our expert Loss Assessors will manage your claim to the highest standard, take the stress off your shoulders, and ensure that you get the full and fair settlement you deserve. To find out more about why it’s worth appointing a Loss Assessor for your property insurance claim, click here.

For expert support when you need it most, speak directly with our team today on 0333 577 2720.

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After a traumatic accidental house fire I was a little lost on how to deal with the insurance and the claim. I reached out to these guys and thank god I did! Simon and everyone else at Property Claim Assist were invaluable and I honestly don’t know if I could have got through it all without them. Handling a big and complex insurance claim is very stressful and complicated. The guys at PCA explained how everything worked and guided me through it all and took up a lot of slack and a lot of the work. Thank goodness I had these guys to depend on.

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