Home and Contents Insurance. Insurers refuse claims relating to poor maintenance

In most cases, you’ll have no trouble with your home and contents insurer if you need to make a claim, although one area of contention is often the value of an item. Another common area that can cause trouble is poor maintenance. As the homeowner, it is your responsibility to look after and maintain the building to a high standard, and if you make a claim on the buildings insurance and it is clear that you have been negligent, then insurers may not pay out the full amount or, at worst, reject the claim altogether. To make sure that this doesn’t happen to you, it’s important to upkeep the property, and the easiest way to do this is to carry out an annual MoT on the building. Spring is a good time to do this, as winter puts the most strain on the building. Then you will be sure to discover potential problems sooner rather than later. It’s in the rain, sleet, snow and cold of winter that your home takes a real battering. So when the weather has hopefully got better, perhaps in March or April time, that’s the best time to do the annual check. In any case, you will be footing the bill to fix any maintenance issues as these cannot be claimed on your insurance – and it’s always best to fix an issue before it becomes a real problem.Follow these ten tips to keep your home in good shape:1.Give the gutters a good clean out – autumn means leaves and these can clog up your gutters and drainpipes along with other debris. If your gutter gets blocked then water could start to penetrate your property, and that’s where things can start getting really expensive with damp issues etc. You can do it yourself or ask your window cleaner to have a look while he’s up there. 2.Check the roof for loose, cracked, or slipped tiles. If your roof starts leaking then your ceiling could be damaged, or rot could set in. Redecorating afterwards is always costly and time consuming. There’s also the danger that a tile could slip off the roof and hit you, someone else, or a car. 3.Take a look at the exterior paintwork – if the paintwork is showing signs of cracking, peeling or blistering then repaint the affected areas to protect the wood. Summertime is the worst culprit as the high heats cause materials to expand and crack – and then in the winter the elements are ready to come in and cause damage. 4.Have your chimney swept if you have an open fire. The clogged up soot in the chimney could get too hot and catch fire at any time. It also absorbs damp in the summer, which isn’t good for the brickwork. 5.Take a look at the damp course around the house and ensure that it is freely accessible all around. Piling up garden debris against the house often causes damage by obstructing the damp course, grass cuttings in particular. If the damp gets in then you will have to redecorate; at worst, rot could set in. 6.Make sure that you haven’t planted any trees or shrubs whose roots could affect your property. If the roots manage to get into the drains or under the building then the repair bills will be astronomical. The worst culprits are Willows and Poplars; in fact, you are supposed to have specially reinforced foundations if your home is built within 150 feet of a Poplar tree. 7.You also have to look out for falling trees. If a tree falls on your house then you will of course make a claim for the damage. But if the tree is on your land and is found to be rotten or already damaged then it will become a maintenance issue and you will have to foot the bill. In future you’ll need to prove that you have been looking after the trees on your land, you may even have to get a tree surgeon to verify the health of your trees on an annual basis, particularly if you have very large trees. Otherwise, your claims may be automatically rejected.8.Climbing plants are another danger area, ivy in particular because it causes damage to brickwork and render if left alone to grow naturally. Do not at any cost allow the ivy to go onto the roof, as that really will be a recipe for disaster. 9.Inside your house, you need to think about the gas supply, and getting an annual safety check on the gas appliances and the boiler is essential. After a long and hard winter, they may be storing up problems. You also need to have the carbon monoxide emissions verified. 10.Last but not least, take a look in the loft. Winter is a popular time for squirrels to invade and they are well known for getting at the insulation around wiring. It’s a good opportunity to eradicate any old wasp or bird nests and block up the openings so they can’t get back in again.If you can follow these tips then you’ll be doing yourself and your home a real favour – and you’ll be doing enough to avoid any future problems with a possible structural insurance claim.

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