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People who are self certifying borrowers have to work that extra bit harder to make sure they have the right home finance – but they also have to make sure they have the right protection.

If you are a self cert borrower you may not know exactly when your income is coming in or exactly how much it is. You may earn more at some points in the year or you may run your own business and have to do everything yourself.

But what happens if you need to shell out for an unexpected payment? It could happen – according to Sainsbury's Insurance, home insurance claims for water damage alone topped £35m in the coldest winter for decades.

Ben Tyte, Home Insurance manager at Sainsbury's, says: "There have certainly been more home insurance claims linked to water damage in recent weeks than we'd expect to see when the weather is milder. Temperatures have dropped to as low as -22C at night in some parts of the UK and with more cold weather predicted, we expect to see more claims linked to water damage."

If you run your own business or earn erratically, could you afford to replace your pipes, your carpets, your tiling, your flooring and your furniture? Could you afford to take the time off work to rebuild parts of your house or at least wait in all day for your new amenities?

Probably not. That's why if you are a self certifying borrower, you need to make sure you have the right protection in place that will cover the cost of any unexpected damages for you. It's tough not earning a regular wage right now, don't make it tougher by not taking out insurance.

SOURCE: Sainsbury's Finance, 09/02/10

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