Home Insurance: DIY SOS

Perhaps the most affected among Brits at the moment are the homeowners who were planning on selling their house and buying another. The property market has stagnated, making it almost impossible to get another mortgage, so homeowners are having other ideas.

DIY has seen a huge soar in popularity recently, as people have set about decorating or renovating instead of trying to sell a house nobody can afford to buy. Giving a house a new lease of life can be almost as refreshing as moving to a new one, and this is what's being realised across the country.

This brings its own set of problems. DIY, when carried out carefully and by someone who knows their way around a toolbox, can be a very satisfying and cheap way to update your home. But almost 75% of DIYers have had some kind of disaster when attempting to carry out work without either preparation or any real experience. Consequently, home insurance claims have gone up, with the average post-DIY claim being around £550.

Some simple DIY rules:

When using power tools, familiarise yourself with their operation and read the instructions carefully before use. Practise using them on a spare piece of wood first, until you feel comfortable with them. And make sure you know where the cut-off switch is!

Never do any major DIY work on your own, always have someone on hand to help you in case something goes wrong. Even something as simple as holding a ladder can mean the difference between safe and sorry.

If you're going to be drilling into walls, get a wire tester. Although most power drills now cut themselves off to avoid electrocution if you drill through a wire, this won't save your internal wiring systems. Likewise, if you're planning on rewiring anything more than a plug and you're not experienced, get an expert.

If you're in any doubt as to your abilities as a DIYer, get a professional in to do it for you. It may not be DIY, but it's cheaper to pay an expert to do the job in the first place than pay them to sort out your mistakes.

Finally, make sure you have adequate home insurance just in case of problems. For any structural alterations you'll also need buildings insurance, and remember to inform your insurance company of any major changes you make. Failure to do so could invalidate future claims.