Insurance

That may sound like something you may say about your local council or your bank, however, what we are talking about here is a feature of most modern houses these days that is often overlooked until it stops working. That is when the sudden realisation occurs, that you are unable to wash properly! This is not a nice proposition, especially given that most people are very conscious of their appearance and personal hygiene. So, if it is thatimportant, why wouldn't you make sure that it is adequately protected against failure by taking out some home emergency cover?

Some of the more basic types of cover can cost as little as £0.10 a day! Now just take a minute or two to just think about that. What could you buy today for £0.10? Not even a newspaper or a stamp! When you consider value for money, this has to be one of the biggest `no-brainers` around and you do not have to leave it at that, what about adding some extra protection for a few pence more?

My eldest daughter finally took the plunge when she was about 21, to get her own flat. Whilst I was glad that she was finally taking the first steps to independence, my paternal instincts were in overdrive. I became an interfering parent to the point where I was almost banned for the flat by her. All she really wanted from me was to help her move her belongings from my house to her flat. After much thought, I finally succumbed and we made the various journeys back and forth to her flat with her belongings.

It was on one of those journeys that I ventured to ask whether she had decided about what kind of insurance she was going to take out to cover the flat and her stuff. I was very quickly put in my place and she made it quite clear that she was in total control of all that kind of thing, so would I kindly just stick to moving the stuff to her flat and leave it at that.

If you have ever had a premonition actually happen, it can be quite spooky at the time. Well I had one of those moments the minute that the phone went and I checked the caller display to see that it was a call from my errant daughter. It seemed that her shower was playing up, so would I please just go round and take a look at it. Why don't you just call out a plumber I ventured? Because she had not yet got around to sorting it out, was the answer.

When I got there, I immediately realised that the shower was `kaput`! It also looked like something in which Antiques Roadshow might be interested! I called a friend of mine who was a plumber and he agreed to call round as a favour to me. The shower needed replacing by a new unit and it would be costly. It was not the right time to say "I told you so", but after about the 10th visit to use my bath by my daughter I made my feelings known.

She did eventually get the shower fixed and I was pleasantly surprised, when a few days later, the front door bell rang and in she marched with a large envelope in her hand. Upon opening it I found a brand new shiny home emergency policy document, but not just a basic cover, a fully comprehensive cover.

My other two kids have since left and got their own homes and lo and behold, they were badgered into taking out home emergency cover by my eldest daughter!