Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Category:
Home Improvements
According to new research conducted by ICM on behalf of Sainsbury's Home Insurance, tradesmen cause up to £590 million worth of damage each year.
Furthermore, Insurantz.com has estimated that one in five tradesmen are operating without public liability insurance, which could reportedly mean that up to £118 million worth of damage is not covered.
The research also indicated that of the 25 million British adults who have called in professionals to conduct work on their property in the last five years, just 4 million requested evidence of public liability insurance. It was found that 84 percent either did not ask or they could not remember asking, whilst 19 percent did not ask because they did not know about the cover.
Sainsbury's Home Insurance Manager, Ben Tyte, commented: "Some home insurers, like ourselves, will review matters of damage on a case by case basis and may cover damage done to a property by a qualified tradesperson. However some insurers may not. All homeowners have a duty of care to look after their properties and if no effort to check for public liability cover is made and damage is done, they could find their home insurance invalidated and risk having to pay for major repairs themselves."
It has been revealed that the average bill for damage caused by tradesmen comes in at £1,136. Nevertheless, of the 2.6 million people whose properties have been damaged by tradesmen in the last five years, 339,000 people were reportedly left with bills in excess of £2,000. What’s more, 133,000 people faced bills between £5,001 and £10,000, whilst 11,000 people were landed with bills of more than £10,000.
Ben Tyte said: "We've seen a significant increase in the number of people looking to carry out work on their properties in the last year alone, and it's a real concern that so many tradesmen continue to operate without adequate insurance.
"The risks involved in home improvement work are obvious, and while many public liability claims can be of a relatively low value, the financial implications for those who suffer major damage at the hands of an uninsured tradesperson could be huge.
"We'd encourage all homeowners to only employ tradesmen with adequate cover, and to insist on seeing evidence of such before allowing work to start."
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Homeowners who are keen to employ professional and respectable tradesmen to carry out work in or around their property could consider taking out a secured loan to fund this work if needs be. One of many finance options available, a secured loan for
home improvements could be used to finance an array of projects. For example, extra living space could be created by way of an extension or conservatory, following which borrowers may wish to redecorate and refurbish their property in accordance with their personal tastes and style.
