With bills due to rise, can you afford not to have water supply cover?
Households across Britain may look into getting water supply cover in place after it was announced that utility bills are set for significant rises this year. Regulator Ofwat has published its annual review of the sector and revealed that the average bill for household water and sewerage is set to rise with inflation in 2011-12. With recent reports suggesting that inflation itself is set to rise sharply, this could amount to big price rises for many customers.
According to the Ofwat report, the average bill for customers in England and Wales will stand at £356, a 4.6 per cent rise of £16. The changes are due to come into effect on April 1st 2011 and will apply until 31st March 2012. The regulator explained that individual changes will vary depending on supplier, meaning some households could end up stumping even more than the average rise.
Chief executive at Ofwat Regina Finn reminded consumers of the importance of the regulator’s job in setting prices. “People can shop around for the best deal on many things, but not water. Our job is to do this for them,” she commented.
The representative continued that the body tried to listen to customers when it came to working out price rises and claimed that the limits in place “will deliver real benefits” to Britons.
She added: “If companies don’t deliver for customers, we will take action. In the last five years, companies have had to pay out more than £500 million, from their own pockets, following underperformance.”
Although Ms Finn tried to reassure consumers with her comments, the fact is that bills are set to rise, no matter which company is supplying your water. For this reason, many households may find it more difficult than ever to deal with repair works, especially if they’re expensive patch-ups of areas such as the water supply pipe.
For this reason, it’s never been more important to be prepared for the worst – and water supply pipe insurance could make all the difference in keeping you in the black this year. With this type of cover in place, you can be sure that should problems occur with this type of utility, you won’t need to fork out for a costly repair bill. What’s more, it also provides money for the reinstatement of garden and grounds should these need to be dug up to reach the pipe. If the works keep you out of your home, there’s also the option to claim for the cost of a hotel stay, although terms and conditions apply.
With the cost of living set to rocket this year, can you really afford to risk not protecting your water supply pipe?
