This is how you can prevent damage to your home during heavy rain and floods

Continual heavy rain and flooding can cause damage to your home - but there are certain things you can do to prevent this.

Not only can torrential downpours potentially cause disruptive damage that can take a long time to fix, but repairing it can also prove costly.

Top tips for preventing damage during heavy rain

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These are some of the steps you can take to minimise damage to your home during extreme weather conditions, according to Mike McGrail, a home insurance expert from Swinton Insurance.

Take care to clear gutters of blockages and fallen leaves to ensure that rainwater has somewhere to drain and to prevent it from building up and causing further damageHeavy rain may sometimes cause flash flooding or even cause rivers to burst their banks. If there are warnings of flash flooding in your area, use sandbags to block potential water entry points, e.g. doors on the ground floor and garden gates. You can usually get these sandbags from your local authority. However, there may be a charge.Ensure that all fixtures and loose objects around your house and garden are stored in a safe place, such as a shed or garage, or fastened down securely.Objects such as fence panels and garden ornaments are not usually covered by insurance policies and can easily come loose during a stormClose and lock doors and windows during storms, high winds and heavy rain. High winds can cause serious damage to frames and panels, so make sure that they are secure.

Take care to clear gutters of blockages and fallen leaves to ensure that rainwater has somewhere to drain (Photo: Shutterstock)

Insurance documentation

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) estimated that the cost to insurers due to storm and flood damage in the winter of 2015/6 topped around £1.3bn.

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Ensure that your insurance documentation is somewhere safe and easily accessible. You could even make a digital copy.

Many insurance providers have online portals where you can access your insurance documents by logging into your account.

This article was originally published on our sister site, Yorkshire Evening Post.

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