Botched DIY can cost a fortune
Home accidents cost £1.35bn a year
Friday, 13 Jun 2008 12:58
Accidents in the home cost 1.35 billion a year and Londoners are the most accident-prone, a survey has revealed.
Tescocompare claims there are five million accidents in the home every year, causing damage worth £1.35 billion.
'Horseplay' tops the list of causes, with one in four accidents attributed to messing around, costing £325 million every year.
DIY is the next biggest cause of mishaps and causes £149 million of damage every year, the comparison website said.
Young children create their fair share of household chaos and are responsible for £136 million worth of accidents annually. Pets are almost as bad, causing £87 million worth of damage.
Paul Baxter of Tescocompare.com said: "As the saying goes, accidents do happen - and this research suggests many of us suffer financial loses on an annual basis.
"You can insure against accidental damage - and the new home insurance service on Tescocompare will enable you to see what is covered, and what is not, in the event of an accident."
Tescocompare.com, also revealed that people living in the nation's capital are most likely to have had an accident in the home.
In London, six out of 10 have dropped something or spilt something, broken the TV, or broken a window - compared with five out of 10 in the east of England.
The most common accident involves damaging carpets, curtains and furniture through spillages - with one in three (34 per cent) admitting that this has happened to them in the last five years.
Second most common is dropping a household ornament with one in four of us (23 per cent) admitting to having had a serious case of 'butterfingers' in the last five years.
Almost one in five (17 per cent) have damaged an expensive electrical item - such as the TV or DVD player. And a surprisingly large number (six per cent) have dropped the iron and burnt the carpet or furniture.