SURREY, UNITED KINGDOM — (Marketwire) — 09/26/12 — Research by Legal & General-s home insurance team has found that despite being armed with the appropriate tools, Brits simply aren-t using them. They found that 45% of the population own tools they never, or rarely use. That equates to an astonishing total of GBP 2.2 billion of unused DIY tools in Britain – an average of GBP 103 per person.
Some people wrongly believe they can rely on their , or landlord insurance to cover any essential home maintenance work, whereas in fact it is a home owner-s responsibility to look after the upkeep of their homes.
Brits- unused DIY tools
Despite the fact many tools are seldom used, this doesn-t appear to have put Brits off buying them. 65% say they have purchased DIY tools in the past five years.
Perhaps a lack of understanding is one of the reasons that Brits- tools are left to gather dust. 39% said that they had bought a drill in the last five years yet when Brits were asked about their confidence using a drill 24% admitted that they were not confident.
-HandyMandys- setting a new trend
Men are the worst offenders, spending an average of GBP 116 on unused tools, compared to GBP 87 for women. This is part of a trend identified by our that sees more women embracing DIY and home maintenance tasks. 78% of Brits say that women are increasingly taking responsibility for the conventionally -male- role of home maintenance compared to twenty years ago and are the new “”.
Britain-s empty toolboxes
While some Brits aren-t using their DIY tools, as many as 35% say they haven-t bought any in the past 5 years. Perhaps this is unsurprising given that over two thirds (68%) admit that they cannot carry out the most basic home maintenance tasks, but that doesn-t mean Brits should completely ignore the fact that DIY and home maintenance is essential work.
Prevention is always better than a cure. By ignoring important home maintenance tasks Brits can risk facing much larger costs further down the line if they end up needing to pay for expensive repair work. You cannot rely on home insurance or contents insurance to cover home maintenance issues, so keeping a well stocked toolbox is a great place to start.
Of course, as our general insurance team have found, filling your toolbox is only the first step. Dusting off those tools once in a while and putting them to good use is something Brits need to do a lot more of.
Always be cautious when undertaking DIY tasks.
For more details on the various aspects of home maintenance that impact home insurance cover; the insurance cover available from us and to download a copy of our Home Care and Repair Report go to .
Contacts:
Legal & General
Berni Ryan
01737 375 369