Why your home insurance claim will be rejected

Axa Insurance surveyed homeowners to find out how many of them misunderstand what their homes are covered for.

The main misconception centred on the belief that you're able to claim even if the cause of a fire, of water damage, or some other incident, was lack of maintenance.

58% of homeowners thought that you could claim for fire damage if the cause was an unswept chimney. This is not true.

53% also thought that a fire caused by old or faulty wiring would be covered by their home insurance. Anyone claiming for this could be distraught to find that their claim is rejected.

The obvious conclusion is to keep your chimney swept and ensure your wiring is modern and has been safety checked.

While you can claim for many other causes of fire, it's better not to have to. In our household, we have rules about never leaving candles burning when you're the last to leave the room even for just a minute and never leaving anything on the hob that you wouldn't use to cook with. In addition, we don't put the toaster under kitchen units.

Smoke detectors warn of fires in time to save lives and result in the fire brigade being called sooner, sparing more of your property.

When claiming against fire or other damage, make sure you keep any damaged contents as evidence for the insurer.

Axa found that a massive 61% of people thought that they could claim on their home insurance if a wall or ceiling collapses when there were neglected cracks in them or other unattended structural issues.

21% were surprised to learn that they couldn't claim if their walls or brickwork are damaged by untended climbing plants.

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Why your home insurance claim will be rejected