Tradespeople 'causing £590m in damage annually'
Personal insurance
29th April 2010
The level of damage caused by tradespeople to British homes annually is an estimated £590 million worth, a new report claims.
A study by Sainsbury's warns households that one in five tradesmen does not have public liability insurance and their own home cover could be invalidated if such people carry out work on their properties.
With around £118 million in damage being caused by uninsured workers per year, it is important that consumers ensure the person they are hiring has a policy in place to cover any unforeseen problems with a job.
However, just 16 per cent of adults hiring tradespeople to work on their homes during the past five years requested evidence of public liability cover in advance and 19 per cent were not aware such insurance exists.
The average cost of repairing damage done to a property by tradesman is £1,136.
Meanwhile, research company Defaqto has urged motorists with a UK insurance policy to review it to assess whether or not they can claim for injuries to their vehicles caused by potholes, as the freezing winter weather has caused substantial damage to UK roads.
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