An essential service
When the state of emergency was declared on March 14, 2020, the Official State Gazette of 30 March made it very clear that maintenance and repair activities for urgent breakdowns were considered an essential service. And the truth is that these professionals have not stopped. A recent study carried out among more than 2,000 technicians in this field estimates that urgent repairs increased by 74 percent during lockdown.
The most common breakdowns
If you are curious to know what broke down the most in the home, where we have had to spend so much time, here is the ranking: short circuits, power surges and appliance repairs. Unsurprisingly, televisions and dishwashers topped the list in the number of breakdowns. On the other hand, boiler repair services have seen calls soar by 136 percent, interventions in sanitation and drainage networks have increased by 89 percent, and gas-related callouts by 87 percent.
The spark is now a trend
In addition to home repairs, other types of incidents that also led to many calls for assistance were those related to computers, with an increase of more than 70 percent, mainly for equipment repair interventions – due to the spectacular increase in teleworking – but also, although to a lesser extent, for cybercrime. Incidentally, once the state of emergency ended, there was a significant increase in calls for car insurance: since most private vehicles had been parked up for months, many batteries refused to start. The “spark” is now a trend in ads.
Repairs with PPE
What is clear is that the guarantees of home insurance companies during the state of emergency were more valid than ever and were even more necessary than at any other time to cope with the situation. Compliance with safety regulations by technicians who had to enter homes – sometimes with infected people inside – has been excellent: PPE, safety distancing, isolation of repair areas, hand sanitizing, etc. On the other hand, the technicians also highlighted the prudence of users when assessing whether their repair was urgent before requesting the service.
