Winter is not the best of times for you or your home. It can make you bed-ridden and house-locked and your home damaged and un-functional. It’s frigid, dark and awful and apart from the festivities, there is hardly any reason for us to look forward to it.

To get you an idea of how bad it can get for your home, just a single insurer got over 15,000 claims last year. Needless to say, the money went into repairing the damage the winter caused.

If you haven’t so far had to claim your home insurance for winter damage repair, consider yourself lucky. And if there is no insurance to fall back on, these repairs can break your bank.

So how can homeowners protect their homes, and bank balance, in and from winter?

Though you can’t stop winter from happening, what you can do instead is to take protective measures to minimize the damage the severe weather can do.

Tips for protecting the interior

• Winter will turn into a nightmare if they malfunction

• Freezing of pipes is a common problem in winter. One way to deal with it is by keeping the temperature of central heating system to above 10 degrees

• Make sure the loft is properly insulated and ventilated

• Use thicker curtains to trap more heat in the home

Tips for protecting the Exterior

• Roofs are often the first casualty in times of heavy snowing or intense storm. Keep an eye on it throughout the season in order to spot and mend damages early. Hire a Skilled Local Roofer to get durable and quality repair.

• Storm, blizzard or tempest has a knack of clogging your drain pipes and gutters by sweeping in leaves and debris. Clear them after each spell of such bad weather to avoid blocks and overflows.

• Fasten all entry and exit points like doors, gates and windows otherwise the storm will feel welcome to do the damage. Cut back low hanging branches and secure external light fittings.

Protection against bad weather

• Keep an eye on news and weather reports

• Have some tools, furniture or ornaments lying around out in the open? Secure them before they get blown around in high winds

• Don’t park your car in open and/or near trees or buildings. You don’t want something falling on it, do you? Keep it secure inside your garage.

Despite your best of efforts, things might go wrong once in a while. And insurance claims can be a great help in these scenarios. Here is how you should make the insurance claim for early resolution.

As soon as you spot the damage, get in touch with your insurer immediately.

Keep proof of damage – ideally photos of spoiled items – handy to assist with the claim.

If it was some sort of extreme weather – like storm – causing the damage, it must have made some news. Keep some reliable reference ready to remove doubts if there are some.

If you couldn’t bear the sight of damage and got it repaired on your own, it’s wise to keep the receipt of that job.

There are additional costs and premiums you might end up paying as a result of the claim. Just make sure if the cost of repair is worth this much effort.

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