This category is about all aspects of Holiday Home Maintenance and will be of interest to UK holiday homeowners. As Holiday Home Insurance Specialists we are proud to share maintenance tips, guidance and articles.

Whether you own a holiday cottage complex, individual holiday home, apartment or cottage these articles are for you. Subjects covered include preventing burst pipes, having your chimney swept, cleaning decking, maintain hot tubs, housekeeping and changeovers.

Check out these posts: Holiday Home winter maintenance tips, Preventing water leaks, Holiday Let Changeovers

How green is your holiday home

How green is your holiday home?

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How green is your holiday homeThere has never been a better time to reduce your energy over heads and ‘Do your bit’ for the environment. You may have made changes to your home but have you given thought to “How green is your holiday home?”

As energy assessors and building surveyors our friends at footPrint Energy Assessments Ltd have experienced the various incentives to aid us all to reduce the amount of energy we use for heating and power. In this brief guest blog, footPrint Energy Assessments introduce some of the incentives and schemes currently available.

There are three distinct phases to the governments push towards a low carbon economy:

  1. Incentives – to reduce energy demand – Now!
  2. Neutral – Loans to reduce energy demand that are paid off by the reduction in energy bills
  3. Penalties – Legislation to enforce energy efficiency

Currently there are numerous incentives ultimately in place to reduce the amount of carbon the UK’s buildings emit, but also help us reduce our overheads – whether you run a business from a commercial premises, own a domestic property or indeed run a furnished holiday letting or buy to let, you may be able to take advantage of the following schemes:

  • Feed in Tariff (FiT) – This scheme offers payments for each kWh of electricity produced by a renewable source (Solar PV, Wind turbine, Water turbine, CHP), in addition a further payment is made for each kWh of electricity exported back to the national grid. The occupier of the building also has the added bonus of free electricity whilst the technology is producing.
  • Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) – Very similar to the above FiT, payments are made for each kWh of heat produced from a renewable source, this coupled with the reduced heating bill makes a great another great scheme.
  • The Green Deal – A government monitored loan scheme, where the savings made through energy reduction technologies go towards paying off the loan.
  • Energy Company Obligation (ECO) – The scheme is aimed at social housing or people on benefits and is a grant to help pay for more costly energy saving methods that do not fall under the rules of The Green Deal
  • Landlords Energy Saving Allowance (LESA) – As the name implies this scheme is for landlords, the landlord can claim the full cost of installing qualifying energy saving technologies against their tax, up to £1,500 per year for each property.
  • Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme (ECA) – The ECA is for businesses and is similar to the LESA, businesses can claim the full price of the energy saving technology installed against their taxable profits

footPrint Energy Assessments Ltd are a small independent firm that provide energy reduction plans, energy surveys (EPC’s) and environmental plans. For further information about us or any of the above please contact us through our website – www.fdea.co.uk

Holiday home insurance and renewable energy technology

If you have renewable energy technology equipment, such as:

  • solar panels
  • ground or air source heat pumps; or
  • wind turbines

fitted at your holiday home or are considering doing so do check with your holiday home insurance provider to ensure that they are covered for all perils. Boshers holiday home insurance policy wording is wide enough to provide cover for full perils including accidental damage. You will need to ensure that your sums insured are adequate to include replacement costs of the equipment. Should you have any holiday home insurance questions relating to renewable energy pleas call one of our team on 01237 429444.

You may find the following holiday home insurance articles of interest:

For further information on UK holiday home insurance visit the website page most relevant to you:

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Escape of water protection and prevention for holiday home owners with Autostopcock

Escape of water protection and prevention for holiday home owners with Autostopcock

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Escape of water protection and prevention for holiday home owners with AutostopcockIt’s a sobering thought but 9 out of 10 burst pipes happen when no one is at home. Escape of water accounts for approximately £1billion of damage annually in addition to the distress caused and loss of irreplaceable items. There is a solution which will be of particular interest to holiday home owners:

Escape of water protection and prevention for holiday home owners with Autostopcock

Protect your assets with an intelligent automatic stopcock which monitors water flow in the property and automatically terminates the mains water if a flood risk occurs. Go to www.autostopcock.co.uk and read how to guard against water damage and watch it in action on the Autostopcock video.

Autostopcock have kindly agreed to offer Boshers holiday home insurance clients a special introductory discount of 25% simply use the discount code BOSH25 when purchasing an Autostopcock for your home or holiday home.

The Autostopcock will detect if there is a flood risk in your holiday home and isolate the water accordingly in instances such as:

  • Abnormal constant waterflow for more than 45 minutes indicating a rupture in the pipe
  • If the temperature falls below 3 degrees celcius and there is a risk of freezing
  • If there has been no water flow for 72 hours indicating that the property has been left vacant

Normal mains water pipes can gush out up to 1 tonne of water of water per hour and the effects can be catastrophic. Recent statistics indicate that water leaks now cost UK insurers more than fire and burglary thus putting pressure on premiums and increasing excesses.

Whilst fitting an Autostopcock is not an alternative to complying with the conditions set out in your holiday home insurance policy and maintaining your plumbing and heating pipes, it will provide you with valuable additional peace of mind and potentially reduce the risk of you having a holiday home insurance claim or at the very least minimise any damage suffered. For further details on Autostopcock visit www.autostopcock.co.uk and remember to enter your discount code BOSH25 at the checkout.

Escape of water protection and prevention for holiday home owners with Autostopcock

 

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Carbon Monoxide Be Alarmed Campaign

This winter, make sure you protect yourself and your guests from carbon monoxide poisoning

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Carbon Monoxide Be Alarmed CampaignThis winter, make sure you protect yourself and your guests from carbon monoxide poisoning. As holiday home insurance specialists we provide financial peace of mind for holiday home owners should an insured peril occur and lead to a claim. Responsible holiday cottage owners and holiday home letting agents  give consideration to the safety of their guests. It’s important to furnish yourself with up to date information and for this reason Boshers are pleased to promote the Carbon Monoxide – Be Alarmed! campaign.

It’s widely known that fitting a smoke detector in residential properties is essential to ensure the safety of its residents. However, awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning, and of the importance of installing a carbon monoxide alarm in a property, remains low. Only 39% of people surveyed recently by the Carbon Monoxide – Be Alarmed! campaign said that they had an alarm in their home – and other evidence suggests that the true figure is actually much lower.

Carbon monoxide is a deadly gas which can kill or cause long-term damage to your health. According to the Department of Health, around 50 people each year die from carbon monoxide poisoning and thousands more are treated in hospital. Carbon monoxide is produced when fuels such as gas, oil, charcoal, coal and wood do not burn completely. The most common cause of this is when an appliance, such as a boiler or cooker, is installed incorrectly or is poorly maintained. Carbon monoxide can also build up when flues, chimneys or vents are blocked. It’s therefore vital that holiday home owners ensure all appliances are installed correctly and serviced annually by a qualified and registered engineer. You can find out more about this on the Carbon Monoxide – Be Alarmed! website here.

Carbon Monoxide Be alarmed ChecklistHowever, given that carbon monoxide is odourless, tasteless and invisible, there is only one way to ensure that you protect yourselves and your guests from carbon monoxide poisoning – by installing an audible carbon monoxide alarm in your property. Alarms are available from £15 and can be bought at DIY stores, some supermarkets, or directly from energy suppliers. You can read more about purchasing and installing an alarm here.

Although it’s not currently a legal requirement in Great Britain for houses to have an alarm fitted, carbon monoxide poisoning is tragic and easily preventable. Install an alarm today and make sure your family, and your guests, do not fall victim to carbon monoxide poisoning.

For a quotation for holiday home insurance for your UK commercially let holiday home call Boshers on 01237 429444 or find out more about our holiday home insurance here.

 

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Landlords Gas Safety

CO Poisoning Risk – Appeal for landlords to check cooker make and model in their lets

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CO Poisoning Risk - Appeal for landlords to check cooker make and model in their letsCO Poisoning Risk – Appeal for landlords to check cooker make and model in their lets. An urgent appeal has been issued today to thousands of consumers who remain at risk from potentially fatal carbon monoxide poisoning in their homes despite concerted efforts by the manufacturer and trading standards to reach them.

Earlier this year it emerged that a number of Leisure, Flavel, New World and Belling cookers produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide if the grill door is not left open during use, as specified in the instructions.

Since then nearly 40,000 of these appliances sold have been tracked down and modified thanks to extensive advertising, mail-outs, safety notices sent with energy bills, phone calls and home visits.

But more than 25,000 homes still have one of these cookers, which could produce extremely dangerous levels of carbon monoxide should the grill be operated with the door closed.  Of these, only 12,000 are known to the manufacturer.

The Trading Standards Institute is supporting the manufacturer’s plea for consumers to respond to this alert by checking the make and model of their cooker – the safety risk can be easily eliminated from the affected appliances by an engineer with a simple modification.

TSI’s product safety lead officer Christine Heemskerk said:  ‘Trading standards and the manufacturer have been working very hard to locate and modify these cookers.

‘Another national press campaign with a safety notice is now being launched and we are urging consumers, including landlords and letting agents, to check the brand and model of their cooker today as there is a serious risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, made worse now with the weather turning cold – there is less ventilation as people are keeping their windows and doors closed to keep the cold out, and some people may be using their grills improperly to heat their accommodation.

‘Anyone who might have one of these cookers should immediately contact the manufacturer and arrange for a free modification.’

The freephone number to call the manufacturer is 0800 342 3049.

AFFECTED MODELS

BELLING G755MkII    WHITE
BELLING G755MkII    ANTHRACITE
BELLING GT755 WHITE
BELLING COUNTRY CHEF 100G    SILVER
BELLING COUNTRY CHEF 100G   ANTHRACITE

NEW WORLD 50 TWLM SV LPG
NEW WORLD 50 WLM WH LPG
NEW WORLD 50 WLM SV LPG
NEW WORLD 50 TWLM WH LPG

Leisure AL6NDW
Leisure CM10NRK
Leisure CM10NRC
Leisure CM101NRCP
Leisure CM101NRKP

Flavel AP5LDW
Flavel DCGAP5LS
Flavel ML5NDS

Other articles of interest to landlords and holiday let owners:

For Self-Catering holiday cottage owners in Scotland, the Scottish Government has produced the following:

You may also find the following posts for holiday home owners of interest:

Follow this link for posts and other useful resources for holiday home owners

For further information on UK holiday home insurance visit the website page most relevant to you:

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Winter Risks Advice

Winter Risks Advice for property owners

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Winter risks advice for property owners – Our holiday home insurance and household insurance underwriters, Ecclesiastical have produced these useful Winter Risks Advice guides for property owners for us to share with you.

Winter Risks Advice

The extremely cold winters of the last few years have led to many businesses, let property, home and holiday home owners sustaining losses from burst pipes, weight of snow on roofs and ingress of water. With the weather once again turning decidedly chilly, now is the time for us to take action and protect our properties.

Last year our holiday home insurance and home insurance household scheme underwriters Ecclesiastical handled just under 2,000* burst pipe claims which caused considerable inconvenience to the property owner and cost an average of £3,627* each to put right. Unoccupied properties such as holiday cottages can be particularly at risk of very expensive claims during the winter months. A high proportion of the £50,000* plus claims last year occurred in properties where the owner was away for no more than a weekend break. There are a number of simple but effective steps property owners can take to both prevent and reduce the impact of cold weather on their properties.

These useful winter risks advice guides are full of hints and tips and are available to view, download and print:

For further information check out the following useful resources:

*Statistics from Ecclesiastical Household claims data, March 2011 – March 2012

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Carrying out alterations or improvements at your holiday home?

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Many furnished holiday home owners will choose the low season to renovate, improve and alter their holiday homes. Be sure to inform your holiday home insurance provider of such alterations so as not to compromise your cover. 

Sums insured may need to be increased to avoid underinsurance. Check out Boshers holiday home insurance | Guide to sums insured or call us on 01237 429444 should you have any queries.  

You may also find the following posts for holiday home owners of interest:

Follow this link for posts similar to `Carrying out alterations or improvements at your holiday home?‘ and other useful resources for holiday home owners

For further information on UK holiday home insurance visit the website page most relevant to you:

Thank you for reading `Carrying out alterations or improvements at your holiday home’?.

 

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Holiday Let Owners – Beware The Big Freeze!

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Holiday Let Owners – Beware The Big Freeze! What could be better than a brisk walk, followed by snuggling up with a hot chocolate beside a roaring log fire in your UK holiday cottage this winter? 

However between now and February half-term the reality is that many holiday homes will be unoccupied and susceptible to pipes bursting in freezing weather, especially if owners have not taken precautions.
According to XCWeather temperatures across many areas of the UK are due to drop well below freezing over the next few days.
In the twelve months to November 2011 35% of our holiday home insurance claims by number were as a result of escape of water. These claims accounted for a staggering 71% of the overall claims payments by value.
As many holiday home owners have unfortunately found out, suffering escape of water damage in your holiday home can be very traumatic and often not detected until someone informs you of water pouring out of the front door! 
The good news is that by taking small precautions, such as our tips to avoid burst pipes and adhering to your holiday home insurance unoccupancy conditions you will significantly reduce the risk. 
Apologies if we are preaching to the converted, we realise that the majority of holiday home owners are extremely careful but the best of us can get caught out.
  • Check out the 7 day forecast for your Holiday Home Postcode here
  • Check out our Tips To Avoid Burst Pipes here 
  • Boshers Holiday Home Insurance policyholders unoccupancy conditions are here          
   
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Winter risk advice for businesses including holiday home, cottage and cottage complex owners

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Boshers holiday home insurance scheme underwriters, Ecclesiastical have produced an informative video containing Winter risk advice for businesses and charities. 
The points raised are equally as important to holiday home and cottage complex owners. Please take a minute to watch Winter risk advice for businesses and charities 

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Scottish Water Warn Holiday Home Owners To Be Prepared this Winter

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Scottish Water are warning their customers including holiday home owners to “Be Prepared This Winter | heat, insulate and protect your home.” Boshers support Scottish Water in their campaign to educate our holiday home insurance clients with holiday cottages in the Scottish Water authority area. Read their winter code and be prepared for Winter! 

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Treat your holiday let to a maintenance check

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Treating your holiday let to a maintenance check will help keep your holiday home safe for you and your guests and reduce the risks of holiday home insurance claims.

  1. GAS AND OIL SAFETY – Do you have Gas or Oil fired appliances? If yes; arrange for a registered gas or oil engineer to service your appliances in accordance with the manufacturers instructions and to carry out annual safety checks as applicable. Inspect and test your Carbon Monoxide detectors.
  2. SWEEP CHIMNEYS – have your chimneys swept if you have an open fire, gas fire, stove, woodburner. As well as reducing the risk of chimney fires, keeping your chimney clean will prevent blockages and the build up of poisonous carbon monoxide in your holiday home.
  3. ESCAPE OF WATER – Mains water tap – ensure you can turn it off and on. Check for dripping taps – repair them if necessary. Check your loft space, water tank and pipe lagging. If unoccupied, programme your heating system in order to maintain a minimum temperature to prevent burst pipes and water damage, or turn off the water and drain the system.
  4. UPDATE RISK ASSESSMENTS – Have you updated your risk assessment? Record your results. Include a visual check of portable electrical items, checking for damage such as fraying power cables. If in doubt have your portable items inspected by a qualified electrician or replace them with new ones as necessary.
  5. STORM DAMAGE – Inspect the roof for signs of slipped slates or tiles and have repairs carried out where needed.
  6. FIRE SAFETY – Have you checked your Smoke Detectors and replaced the batteries? Diary for periodic checks.
  7. FLOODING – Have you cleared your drains, gutters and down pipes to keep them free of leaves and debris?
  8. SECURITY – Repair broken fences, gates and boundary walls.
  9. SLIPS AND TRIPS – Have you considered cleaning garden paths to remove build up of moss, lichen and algae, which can often be slippery?
  10. FURNITURE – inspect your furniture to ensure that it is sturdy and fit for purpose. This should include your garden furniture which you should consider storing undercover for the winter to prevent it rotting or degrading in the cold weather. Replace as necessary.

Boshers Ltd have compiled this list as an aide memoir for owners of commercially let holiday homes in the UK. It is not designed to be exhaustive and Boshers Ltd will not be held responsible for errors or omissions.

Boshers are Independent Insurance Intermediaries and have been arranging specialist holiday home insurance for owners of commercially let UK holiday homes since 1990. For further information and quotes visit www.boshers.co.uk/holiday-home-insurance or contact the holiday home insurance team on 01237 429444.

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