Christmas festive fiascos

Aviva reveals common household claims

Traditionally the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas may be a little different this year as many of us may not be spending the festive season with loved ones.  Unfortunately, the Christmas holiday season can still lead to festive fiascos that we don’t need to happen to us.

Aviva Insurance Ireland DAC reveals below a number of regular annual household claims’ notifications that it sees at this time of year so that customers may be on their guard as we near the big day:

  • Feet put through ceilings while customers were searching around in their attics for Christmas decorations.
  • Theft of Christmas presents from homes and cars, which can be very distressing for customers. 
  • Cracked TVs, knocked over while excited customers were putting up (or taking down) the Christmas trees and decorations. Imagine missing out on all those Christmas movies!
  • Fires, caused by candles, tea-lights and overheated Christmas tree and other lights in our homes that add to our sense of the celebrations ahead.  
  • Escape of Water, caused by freezing pipes, which can be particularly devastating if customers are away for the holiday period (perhaps not so much an issue this year)
  • And cases of impact damage to garden and house walls due to cars, or perhaps Santa’s sleigh   crashing into houses, after skidding on ice covered driveways.

Although Christmas may be somewhat different for all of us this year, we still want to enjoy it and most households are planning to celebrate and are looking forward to the festivities, particularly after a difficult and stressful year. Our experience shows us, that some specific claims have a habit of cropping up at this time of year, with fires, thefts and escape of water when temperatures drop below freezing, being some of the regular occurrences encountered by our customers.

David Lyons, Property Claims Manager, Aviva Insurance Ireland

Aviva offers the following advice to all home insurance customers who should take extra care at this time of year to guard against the following:

  • If away, time heating to come on/off to protect against freezing pipes. Leave attic hatch door open to allow heat into your attic space to prevent pipes in attic from freezing. If planning to be away for a long period of time during the winter months, you should drain your tank and turn the mains water feed off at the stopcock.
  • Be careful not to leave candles and Christmas lights on while not at home, or overnight
  • Be mindful of your home security and don’t be complacent while you are celebrating Christmas
“Our home claims come in all shapes and sizes. While some incidents may be mildly frustrating, there are others which can be truly devastating, particularly those involving fires or water damage. We would urge people to consider whether they may be inadvertently putting their possessions - or even their homes - at risk. By being alert to the unexpected things that can go wrong, we hope our customers can concentrate on enjoying the festive season.”

Media Centre

Visit our Media Centre page to find our latest new releases and media contacts details.

Aviva Group Services Ireland Limited, a private company limited by shares. Registered in Ireland No.322579. Registered Office: Cherrywood Business Park, Dublin, Ireland, D18 W2P5.