An eight-year old, a bathtub and a household flood...

Why Mr Brown's 8 year old got up in the middle of the night and turned on the bath taps, no one knows. The first Mr Brown knew of the problem was when he got up in the morning to find the hall carpet outside his bedroom soaking wet underfoot…

"For a moment, I didn't know what had happened. Then I realised that the taps were still running and rushed to turn them off. There was water everywhere. I then thought about the risk from the electrics and hurried downstairs to turn the power off."

The sight that greeted him was devastating. The kitchen ceiling had collapsed and water was pouring through from the bathroom. The kitchen and most of the ground floor was swimming in water. Crockery, utensils, pots and pans had been scattered everywhere.

"My first thought was that I was going to deal with all this on my own. Then I remembered the cover I had with Europ Assistance. I telephoned them and they went into action straightaway. They arranged for an electrician to check the circuits and replace a damaged plug."

By the end of the day, the situation was under control and the Browns were able to stay in their home.

"Europ Assistance completely transformed the situation from one of disaster to one where there was light at the end of the tunnel. What had started out as an extremely stressful day had clamed down by the evening to something approaching normality."

A logical and valuable addition to the range of assistance services we offer is domestic assistance. This can be provided to cover emergency repairs including cover for immediate remedial cost or as a source of approved repair services for normal home maintenance.

Each domestic service provider is approved and available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Such events as burst pipes, damaged roofs, damage as a result of burglary and faulty heating can all be covered.

HOW IS THE SERVICE PROVIDED?

Telephone calls to our emergency number can be made at any time of the day or night. We will endeavour, under normal circumstances, to arrange with a local approved repairer to call at the client's home to deal with the emergency.

Cover can be arranged which will provide for prompt repairs to an agreed limit. Where extra work has to be carried out, an estimate is provided before the work is undertaken. Our cost control and claims management systems ensure that a fair and reasonable price has been charged.

All billing processes are handled directly by Europ Assistance. The client has the peace of mind knowing that the service provider can make repairs to their home, day or night, is approved and charges in line with accepted industry tariffs.