Thinking of DIY this bank holiday? Make sure you have the right home insurance – here are seven things to remember. Emerald home insurance offers you optional accidental damage cover, pet damage cover, public liability cover and home emergency cover.

As August draws to a close, many of us will be thinking about those jobs that we were going to do ‘in the summer’. In fact, more than 31 million adults will be tackling home improvement jobs this weekend, with an average of five items on their to-do lists.

Here are some points that you might want to remember about you, your loved ones, and your home when you are looking at home improvements this weekend.

“Hey, it’s dangerous out there!”

In plenty of cases, DIY means Damage or Injure Yourself! 2.7 million people in the UK end up at A&E every year because of accidents in the home, many of which are DIY-related. Think inexperience, power tools and ladders and you can see where mishaps may occur!

You might not just damage yourself

There isn’t an A&E department for your home, but your home and its contents might just as easily get damaged. Paint often gets spilled, keen amateurs drill through water pipes, a ladder hits the glass of a closed window. We’ve seen it in sitcoms, but it happens in real life too. Don’t fit that new toilet if you don’t know what you’re doing!

Don’t forget your furry helpers

We love them as much as our own children but they can get in the way of power cables and falling debris, and they don’t understand that you aren’t playing! Keep your pets out of harm’s way. The noise of your power tools and swearing may well do the trick but better safe than sorry. Have you ever tried getting gloss paw prints out of your carpet?

Does your home insurance cover you?

A home insurance policy does not usually include accidental damage cover. Many people opt not to take out accidental damage cover because it does cost more. If you are one of those people, then be extra careful as any damage you do to your home will not be covered. Equally do check any restrictions on cover for damage caused by pets, as this can be limited or excluded all together in some cases. Lastly, even if you cause the damage yourself (broken window, burst pipe) if you have home emergency cover you may be able to call someone out to help you fix up the mess, and have those costs covered.

Does your home insurance cover your neighbours?

Common garden disasters include falling cut branches, ladder mishaps and damaged or broken fences. If you damage a neighbour’s property, you should check that your home insurance includes public liability cover.

Is this DIY or a home renovation?

Do bear in mind that your home insurance can cover most things in your house. However, your home insurance will exclude major work to the home. If you are looking at painting and decorating, replacing tiles or kitchen units, fine. However, if you are doing anything major or structural, or if building works involve your home not being wind or watertight, or if you are replacing windows or doors so that the house is not secure, then call your insurer as otherwise a claim may be refused.

They may charge you extra and may ask you to take extra precautions (such as boarding up window holes or removing valuables and easily-stolen items).

At Emerald Life we can often provide home renovations insurance where we tailor your home policy to the renovations taking place.

“It’s the evidence, stupid!”

You shouldn’t be using your mobile phone when doing DIY, but it can come in very useful if there’s an accident. Obviously if you need to call for help, but also you can take pictures of what happened and also video yourself explaining what happened. When you are trying to clear up or minimise damage, that might be the quickest way of recording the incident.

Remember that Emerald home insurance offers you optional accidental damage cover, pet damage cover, public liability cover and home emergency cover. So this bank holiday weekend, have a great time, stay safe but most importantly make sure that you are covered.