We are all urged to do things for when that rainy day arrives, but the adage, which more aptly refers to saving something, can have more far reaching consequences if not adhered to. In a disposable age, where everything that fails is thrown out and replaced, and so-called built in obsolescence affects nearly everything we use in modern day life, we find ourselves now being urged to be more self-reliant. We should be more adept at tackling life’s minor incidents.

Nobody needs to be educated about the need for motor insurance for example because we have had the consequences of not having it drummed into us constantly over the years. However, we appear still to be indifferent when it comes to the more mundane, like home emergency insurance for instance.

We all like to think that we are capable of dealing with such minor matters ourselves, until it actually happens and we realize how vulnerable we and our belongings are to the damaging effects of such events.

A while ago we noticed that there was a strange rumbling sound every time we ran a bath, or the toilet was flushed. It sounded like a jumbo jet was landing in our garden. It seemed to come from the roof area. There was nothing else happening other than the noise, so we ignored it.

Then one night I remarked to my wife about how loud the rain was outside. She pointed out that it was not raining! I looked outside. There was a cascade of water rushing down to the patio below. I ran downstairs to take a closer look. It was coming out of a small pipe near the underside of the roof. I had absolutely no idea what it was.

Having spent the rest of the night sat downstairs because I could not sleep due to the noise of the water, I eventually got through to a plumber. He could come out but there was a callout fee of £60. I had no choice but to agree.

It seems that the little rubber grommet in the water tank that was part of the mechanism that turned off the water using the float had perished. The water therefore did not turn off, but went out through the overflow. The grommet cost less than £1. The job cost me nearly £200!

The plumber took great pleasure in letting me know that had I been covered by home emergency insurance, I could have saved myself a lot of grief and money.