AXA Assistance's Home Emergency service managed a claim notification every 12 seconds at the peak of the snow and freezing conditions over the first four days of February, where temperatures dropped as low as -9ºC.

But it said volumes were below those experienced during the peak of the bad weather period at the end of 2010. Brrrr! It has felt colder this year to me.

The home breakdown firm is used by clients including Swinton, Halifax and Bank of Scotland and The Co-operative Insurance, so gets a wide range of claims. It said heating-related claims are three quarters the levels of the peak period in December 2010 and plumbing claims are just over half.

Taking work home

And you'll love this: The bloke at AXA whose job it is to promote its home emergency service had his own home flooded by a burst pipe last week. Talk about taking your work home with you.

Kelly Ward is sales & marketing director of AXA Assistance. The ground floor of his home was flooded with more than 5cms of water following a burst pipe last week.

Ward said: "The little touches can make all the difference to the customer experience. The plumber who attended my burst pipe claim provided very practical information on turning off the water supply, helping to mitigate the loss, as well as offering advice on dealing with leaks in the future."

Lessons

Sounds like Ward was lucky not to have been hit the previous year, as insurers and their suppliers had to learn a few lessons.

"Last winter's severe weather created difficulties. We decided to place particular emphasis on meeting the specific demands these kinds of conditions cause," he said. That meant investment in technology, staff training and increasing home working so staff were readily available no matter what the weather threw at them.

"During the peak period last weekend we were able to respond to calls in under 20 seconds to help reassure customers and initiate the deployment of our skilled network," Ward said.

That's dedication to duty: standing in your wellies in your own kitchen and still putting a positive spin on things.