Every year after the summer holidays are over and the kids are back at school, our minds look towards Christmas. A daunting thought, but a more daunting thought should be the consequences of a domestic emergency. Many homeowners will be getting their properties in shape and making repairs before winter sets in, however, there are a growing band of homeowners who are realizing their vulnerability to some kind of unforeseen emergency like a heating failure, a leak or a power failure.

I admit to having ambivalent feelings towards Christmas time as I get older which have as much to do with my antipathy for the commercialism of the festive period as they do my growing vulnerability to the season’s weather.

As my parents grew older, it naturally fell to me and my two brothers to shoulder the responsibility for their welfare. One of those responsibilities was to take turns having them over for Christmas dinner. Imagine my disdain a few years ago, being my turn, to find that our power supply had failed on Christmas Eve day. My wife was panic stricken so I suffered. I was used to the odd skirmish, but this was a full on assault!

Of course everything was my fault from the power failure, being at work on this day, being my turn to have my parents over for Christmas Dinner. Once the storm had subsided, I calmly asked my dear wife to go into the front room where my desk was situated. I then asked her to look in the bottom drawer for a folder marked `Insurance`. She duly obliged and I directed her to the policy document under `Home Emergency Cover`!

The sigh of relief was audible over the phone. She called the number and the insurance company did the rest as they say.

Should I liken myself to Father Christmas? No, more like the proverbial scout who is always prepared!