In a survey of tenants, AXA found that 48% of respondents, or nearly four million homes, were left empty over the festive period and that very few tenants bothered to tell their landlord that the property was unoccupied.
They also neglected to take any extra security steps whilst they were away.
Now the insurer is saying it's this poor awareness of weather and crime risks that will lead to a spike in claims from the rental sector in the coming winter months.
Rental properties lack ‘basic safety checks’
AXA says that too many rental properties are relying on outdated and creaky heating systems and that two thirds of properties lack the basic safety checks that are required by law.
In addition, they found that many tenants were unaware that they were paying too much for their fuel bills because of energy failings with the property.
Only one in five landlords, according to the survey, had bothered to provide their tenants with an energy efficiency certificate. This is despite there being a legal obligation for providing such a certificate when the tenant moves in.
The insurer also says that many landlords will be left out of pocket because they have failed to buy the right type of insurance cover. The firm says that 57% of rental properties, that's around 4.7 million homes, are not properly insured.
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Of those properties that were left empty in December, the survey found that only 18% of tenants told their landlord they were leaving the property empty despite the fact that the risk of fire, burglaries and weather damage dramatically increases when rental homes are unoccupied.
However, many tenants also say that their home has poor security arrangements; only 9% have a burglar alarm fitted and only 26% said they have locks on all external doors and windows - despite this being an insurance policy condition.
AXA also says that most tenants do little to help landlords prepare for the winter hazard of burst pipes and only 26% of respondents said they would leave their central heating on in a bid to prevent pipes from bursting during a cold snap.
Landlords are reminded that they should inform tenants to leave heating on because in the last big cold snap in 2010, insurers were paying claims worth £7 million every day for burst water pipes.
Landlords can save money by being prepared
The survey also revealed that around two thirds of landlords do not arrange for the annual gas safety inspection which means that many properties will be entering the cold winter months with homes that could have potentially lethal faults.
This situation is compounded by the fact that very few rental properties have carbon monoxide alarms fitted.
AXA is also keen to stress that landlords should carefully check their insurance policy and ensure it is suitable for a landlord and that it covers a property when it is being lived in by tenants.
Ordinary home insurance policies will not be valid for rental homes that have tenants in them and this could leave unprepared landlords seriously out of pocket as they pay for big repair bills.
