It is a common misconception that your responsibility for your water supply starts at the stop cock in your home. However, that assumption can prove to be a costly mistake. That is why home and property owners are taking notice and getting home emergency cover.

We have all seen those men from the water board lifting up grid covers and fiddling about in the cavity without taking too much notice of what they are doing. Lets face it, we are not concerned with what they do out on the pavement or in the road, are we? Well, no, we are not concerned with what they are doing, but we are concerned with the bit that goes from there to our house. That is because it is we whom are responsible for that bit of pipe under our garden, lawn or path.

Just to clarify the law on this matter, your water comes from a service main supply pipe. That is then connected to a communications pipe under the pavement or road outside household boundaries. That is where the external stop tap is situated, often on the footpath outside your home. From that point, your supply is carried by a customer service pipe and it is that pipe which is your responsibility.

Should there be any leak or burst of this pipe, it is your responsibility to get it repaired and meet the cost of that repair. There have been some real horror stories involving these types of repair; people having their gardens ripped up or their drives jack-hammered! Only then to have their anguish compounded by a large bill!

As is often the case, it is only when an event like this hits, that people realise the full impact of the consequences. Can it be avoided? Not unless you are Mystic Meg or have clairvoyance as an attribute. However, you can be protected from these consequences by taking out home emergency cover thereby protecting yourself and your family and taking responsibility not only for them, but your property as well.