Summer risk guidance for commercial and personal lines clients

With summer on the way and warmer conditions ahead, we’ve developed helpful guidance for you to support your clients in managing seasonal risks.
 

For your personal lines clients

Keeping homes secure when on holiday
 

According to research*, only 41% of holidaymakers lock all doors that provide access to their home before they leave for their trip, and just 35% of people lock all their windows.

These behaviours could make your clients’ home an easier target for burglars and ruin a long-awaited break. Share these helpful tips, to keep your clients prepared ahead of their summer break:

• Before setting off, doors and windows should be shut and locked, and alarms set where possible. It’s also advisable to keep valuables out of sight.
• For longer holidays, you could ask family, a neighbour or house sitter to keep an eye on your home or consider using smart lights that run on a timer - these can help to make it appear that someone is home.
• To help protect against fire, appliances should be turned off, but ensure that fire and security alarms are still activated.
• Finally, although it can be tempting to post holidays on social media, advertising that the house is empty isn’t a great idea.

Don’t neglect the shed

• Sheds or outbuildings are just as prone to burglary as homes, with commonly stolen items including garden tools, bikes, sports equipment and power tools**.
• To help protect your possessions in sheds and outbuildings, make sure to keep them locked, even when at home, and replace any rusty padlocks and exposed screws on hinges.
• Motion-activated security lights or a battery-operated shed alarm can be installed as additional deterrents.
   

For your commercial lines clients

From summer fires to sun exposure for outdoor workers and the dangers associated with summer driving, there's plenty to be aware of. Taking precautions and carrying out the right checks now will help protect your client’s business this season.

Our summer risk management guide is packed with useful information to you help your clients understand key summer risks, and how to mitigate against them in the coming months.

What to do when an incident occurs

When incidents do occur, early notification and providing the right information upfront can make a real difference to the speed and efficiency of the claims journey.

We encourage you to notify claims as soon as possible and to share key details at the outset. You can also take advantage of our digital claims tools, designed to make notifying and tracking claims quicker and easier.

We’ve developed a handy directory of guidance by claims type. Find out which details help us settle claims faster for;

• Commercial Property or Motor
• Personal Property or Motor

If you need further support, our claims teams are on hand to help. Contact your Claims Relationship Lead or visit our claims contact page.

Further guidance

Our summer guidance templates on Broker Create can be dual-branded with your logo, ready to share with both Personal and Commercial clients to help them prepare for the changing risks the new reason brings. 

^{* Burglary Survey Report conducted by Censuswide (J15666CWMPB). Survey of 2,000 UK nationally representative consumers, collected 05.01.2026 – 07.01.2026. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling Council (BPC), and a signatory of the Global Data Quality Pledge. Censuswide adhere to the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles.}  

^{** The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2024 UK Respondents (Nat Rep 16+), 1,500 of which said they have a shed/outbuilding. The data was collected between 25.04.2025 - 29.04.2025.}