No doubt many of the nation will have tuned into the final of the Great British Bake Off last night.
But new research suggests that the programme may be influencing a rise that isn’t sponge-cake related.
Ageas has revealed that during the weeks that the Great British Bake Off is on our TV screens, claims for kitchen calamities have gone up.
Accidental damage claims for oven and cooker incidents rose by over 15% during GBBO season in 2015, according to analysis by the insurer, who looked at claims data from 2013, 2014 and 2015, analysing the 12 Bake Off weeks during the summer.
Many claims related to hot dishes being dropped on ceramic hobs, oven doors or kitchen floors, and slips and falls onto cookers are not uncommon, as well as forgetful chefs cremating their cusine and ruining their appliances in the process, the research found.
The data also revealed that fires are a particular hazard in the kitchen.
Of all the fire claims received by Ageas in 2015, almost two in five (38%) started in the kitchen, and nearly a third (31%) of those started in a cooking pan.
But whilst the study found a spike in claims during Bake Off season, overall the number of accidental damage claims has been sliced by 58% since 2013 – in contrast to the growing viewing figures of the show, which stood at around 13 million at the opening of the current series.
Rob Hopkins, Head of Household Claims at Ageas comments: “We’ve seen claims rise during the weeks when the show is on air – but also welcome that overall, accidental damage claims have fallen.
“Our biggest concern, however, is the substantial number of fires that start in the kitchen, particularly as nearly a third of UK homes damaged by a fire don’t have a fire detector fitted. This is the simplest way to protect the home and family and we urge homeowners not just to get fire alarms fitted, but to test them at least once a month too.”
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