The stormy weather that many of us experienced throughout June seems to have wreaked havoc for people! There was a big boost in insurance claims for damage caused by lightning strikes.

Direct Line received more than 200 claims since the beginning of June rather than the usual 10-20 they normally see per month.
One of the larger claims was one for &45,884 worth of damage caused when a policyholder’s electrical system was hit. Consequently, a range of equipment was damaged including CCTV camera, burglar alarms, televisions and a central control system for their property.

 

Lightning doesn’t have to directly strike your home to be dangerous. The average 15,000 amps of current can conduct through metal pipes or wires extending outside your home, and can also travel along any metal bars or wiring in concrete walls or floors. Therefore, it’s advised to avoid using any electrical device or plumbing fixture inside your home during a storm.

With temperatures up to four times as hot as the sun concentrated into a channel often as slender as a pencil, it’s no wonder why lightning can be so destructive and deadly!

What can I do to protect my home?
Lightning conductors will not keep lightning from striking but will help direct it safely away from your home if properly installed. Ensure they are attached to your house’s roof and embedded in the ground by a cable.
Lightning also tends to travel across the ground, so if you’re considering planting trees in your garden, keep the taller ones at a safe distance from your house.
The easiest way to protect your electrical appliances in your house is to unplug them as soon as you here the first clap of thunder. Put that shower you were going to have on hold until the storm as passed as plumbing pipes make excellent conductors for lightning. Also, stick to mobiles and cordless phones during the storm – 5% of people that are struck by lightning are talking on their corded phones!