Last year Halifax Home Insurance handled almost 30,000 windstorm damage claims totalling over £17m to fix, and burst and frozen pipes accounted for over 20,000 claims which cost over £43m to put right.

David Rochester, spokesperson for Halifax Home Insurance, said: “Winter is the time when we retreat to the warmth and safety of our homes, but before doing so there are some essential checks that need to be carried out.

“With home emergencies, prevention is certainly better than the cure, and much of the damage could be avoided if householders spent a small amount of time preparing for the bad weather.”

Halifax advises checking the condition of your roof, having your boiler serviced and keeping a home emergency kit with essentials such as blankets and torches.