The insurance company Aviva, which also owns the RAC, has been texting its half-million members with tips about how to tackle the cold weather at home and on the road.
It’s the second year that the insurer – previously known as Norwich Union – has sent out texts in the hope of reducing its customers’ exposure to costly disasters.
This year’s message says:
Please take care in the cold weather, if you have to drive, take a spade, food and a blanket. At home, leave the heating on to avoid burst pipes.
(You can find more of the items you should carry in your car on our winter driving page here.)
Aviva claims director Rob Townend pledged that the messages were only being sent to customers who had voluntarily supplied their mobile numbers and opted in to receiving texts from the company.
He said: “Obviously when we have such extreme weather conditions, as we have now, it makes sense to send advice to customers as quickly and simply as possible, so where we have mobile numbers for our customers – and they have said they are happy for us to contact them – we are sending little reminders to be extra careful in the cold snap.
“We hope it might prevent some of the soaking homes that we saw last winter as a result of water-damage caused by burst pipes and perhaps a short message about the driving conditions might make people think twice before they venture out in their cars.”
By coincidence, the name Aviva can mean ‘Spring’ in Hebrew (according to Wikipedia, anyway). Can’t come soon enough, we say.