Home insurance customers are being urged to batten down their hatches and do all they can to protect their homes from all kinds of weather damage this winter.

As the weather continues to get colder, both broken boilers and frozen pipes have the potential to wreck Christmas. However, homeowners can avoid this kind of damage easily by taking a few precautions.

The head of a top home insurance company said that it is vital that homeowners remember the importance of taking proper precautions to safeguard their homes from harsh wintry weather.

Homeholders can do a number of things to try and avoid winter disasters. It has been recommended that homeowners use preformed pipe insulation to insulate household pipes and replace the washers on dripping taps. This is because if the taps freeze then the pipe will get blocked as well. Homeowners should also know where the water valves are so that it can be turned off quickly in case a pipe bursts.

Homeowners have also been advised to sweep their chimneys before lighting their first fire of the season so that destroying fireplaces can be avoided.

By keeping the heating low at all times, pipes will not freeze. It is also important that homeowners check their loft insulation and on cold days, keep the loft door open to allow air circulation.