Frozen Pipe Risk In Cold Weather, Insurance Company Warns

Homes and businesses are at risk from burst water pipes as the cold weather continues, More Than home insurance is warning.

Properties left empty over the Christmas period could suffer significant damage from burst pipes when the freezing weather starts to thaw.

Water pipes and tanks in lofts and exposed places can burst as the water inside them freezes. When the ice thaws, the damaged pipes leak, often with serious and costly consequences.

There are steps that householders and business owners can take to protect their property from burst pipes, particularly if it will be empty over the next week or so, advises David Pitt, Operations Director at RSA and MORE TH>N ADVISES.

Measures such as keeping the central heating set to a minimum of 10 degrees and removing a square of loft insulation from underneath the water tank are simple to implement, yet might save the inconvenience and costs of damage from burst pipes.

More Than is also recommending another tip if you are going away for the Christmas weekend: open the loft door to allow warm air from the house to circulate around the loft space, so that pipes do not freeze.