Home insurance claims involving hot tubs bubbled over last year as people spent more time in their gardens during lockdown, an insurer has said. Insurers said there had been a 188% year-on-year increase in accidental damage claims for hot tubs.
Claims they accepted include a grass strimmer bursting an inflatable tub and an engagement ring ripping a lining.
The high-ticket items rocketed in popularity as more people spent summer in the UK.
Last June, shopping platform eBay reported sales of hot tubs had increased by nearly five times and stock on Argos's website remains limited, where hot tubs can cost up to £6,439.
However, parasols falling into tubs have also caused customers trouble, as have birds pecking holes in their covers.
The insurer added that accidental damage claims for items dropped in, or knocked off the side of, hot tubs in the UK have also increased in recent years. Mobile phones topped the list of items that took the plunge.
The insurers also saw a small number of claims for stolen hot tubs. In many cases, deflated, out-of-use, spas were stolen from garages and outbuildings.
Many people bought hot tubs, while others took their spas out of storage, so they could enjoy holidays at home. Unfortunately, this appears to have led to all manner of mishaps, both with the hot tubs themselves and items dropped in them.