When it is `that` time of year again, you know the one, when everybody starts to lose all sense of reality and rush out to shops at the weekend to join the millions of other lemmings! I know that seems a very cynical viewpoint on the tradition of Christmas, but there is a very important thing we sometimes forget in our headlong rush to get the presents before the `rush`, home emergency insurance.

It may seem a mundane proposition when placed alongside the much more exciting prospect of Christmas shopping, but a little forward planning will make you much more popular than Santa if things do go wrong.

Think about these facts for a moment.

  • The average plumber hourly rate is £35
  • For London that cost rises to £75 per hour and more
  • The average plumber callout charge is £35-75

So, what sorts of things would your home emergency insurance policy cover?

As well as paying for same-day repairs to heating and hot water supply, plumbing, drainage and electrical problems, broken doors and windows, loss of keys, vermin infestation and storm damage to windows and roofs, some policies will also pay for annual boiler inspections, which homeowners are advised to undertake every year and can cost as much as £80.

Even when you have taken out House Contents and/or House Buildings Insurance, it would be wise to check whether any of these events are covered because you can rest assured that you will not be a very popular person if, for example, your heating fails over Christmas, or you have a power failure.