You may not think about fire and smoke alarms in the context of insurance. Their primary purpose is clearly saving lives; however, if the worst comes to the worst, you want to ensure you don’t do anything that could invalidate a potential claim.
The statistics
Insurance comparison site Go.Compare compiled official government statistics from England, Scotland, and Wales, which revealed approximately 13,458 domestic fires that the fire service attended with no functioning smoke alarm present. This translates to around £16m worth of fire-related home insurance claims being rendered invalid, often after a protracted and sometimes costly dispute process; what’s more, over half the fatalities in domestic fires involved an absence of working smoke alarms. It also seems that over 60% of people did not realise the lack of a smoke alarm could impact an insurance claim.
What to do
Advice is available from the National Fire Chiefs Council on testing alarms on a weekly or monthly basis alongside other household chores. Batteries will probably need replacing at least annually, and the overall lifespan of an alarm is about ten years.
Fire alarms Northamptonshire can be installed with the help of professionals such as https://firealarmsystems.co.uk/. They can also assist with maintenance and repairs. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
If you want to minimise the risk that an insurance company will invalidate any claim you make after a fire, you must make sure you have taken all reasonable safety steps, including the installation of alarms. This also improves your chances of surviving any fire.
