Home maintenance DIY skills

Home emergencies – what will you do or DIY?

In the past young men learnt home maintenance skills from their fathers, but now they're likely to call in dad just to solve their latest DIY problem. Or else search online for DIY how-to videos rather than call a tradesman.

People need someone they can trust to sort out problems around the home. So when the going gets tough, it's good to know that help is at hand from your home insurer. Many insurers provide home emergency assistance in their policies, either included or as an option when you buy.

Home emergencies DIY skills to become extinct

A survey by Ronseal found that only 'one in three people aged 23 to 38 feel confident about doing home repairs or maintenance'. You could put that down to the difficulty of getting on the property ladder, and then learning DIY skills to save money.

Meanwhile, the Big Issue has reported that a quarter (28%) of millennials admit they'd have trouble fixing a toilet seat. When it comes to DIY, you have to start at the bottom.

This is why we include Home Emergency and Boiler Cover with our Platinum level of home insurance.

Home Emergency and Boiler Cover provides up to £500 towards the cost of emergency repairs, following an insured event such as a blocked drain, a water leak from an internal pipe or a boiler breakdown. With a 24-hour helpline and unlimited call-outs, you can rely on our assistance to make your home safe and secure.

You can also add Home Emergency and Boiler Cover to our Silver and Gold levels of home insurance.

Avoid the DIY despair and get the protection you need for your property when you get a home insurance quote.


Author: The AA. Published 22 January 2020. Updated 13 August 2024.

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* Survey of new business sales from theAA.com, September 2023 to February 2024. Prices based on standard joint cover only.