UK Homeowners Leave Themselves Exposed to Unpaid Insurance Claims as Winter Weather Draws in

UK Homeowners Leave Themselves Exposed to Unpaid Insurance Claims as Winter Weather Draws in PR Newswire LONDON, October 10, 2012 LONDON, October 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As winter approaches and weather related claims start to rise, AXA is urging customers to carry out home [1]maintenance as six in ten make wrong assumptions about the cover provided against stormy weather. The insurer reveals that every year it turns away around one in twenty storm damage claims because damage has been caused not by the weather but by a lack of maintenance of the policyholder's home. Yet research among homeowners reveals that nearly two thirds (59%) would expect their insurer to pay out for any weather-related damage to their home no matter what the state of its repair. In fact 23% believe that a home insurance policy is there to pick up any sort of structural damage caused by general wear and tear. Around a quarter of homeowners have had some sort of winter weather related damage caused to their home in the past from flooding, strong winds, or snow causing collapsed roofs and guttering. However, among homeowners who have lived in their homes for five years or more, 31% have not checked the state of their roofs in more than five years, and 11% have never checked the state of their roofs. Meanwhile only 41% of homeowners have checked their gutters in the last three years or less and 24% have never cleared gutters. Many homeowners are well aware of problems with their homes.