By Lana Clements

The notorious Friday the 13th is upon us, which means that many of us may be taking extra care with day to day activities.

However, if bad fortune does strike around the home, insurance cover could take help take care of the mess. Firstly, check your accidental damage cover. Many home policies will offer accidental damage for certain items as standard, however, on basic policies you usually have to purchase it as extra or enhance cover.

As standard, it tends to cover fixtures, so if a window or mirror were to smash you could perhaps claim. Some of the more robust home policies will cover accidental damage to televisions, audio, video and computer equipment and their aerials and satellite aerials as standard.

Added cover protects all contents, so if you have a cream sofa and a red wine spillage you should be covered. There are some accidents which may be excluded; insurer More Than says those caused by pets, or which take place outside may not be claimed for under some policies.

If your bad luck means that you have a slightly more critical situation on your hands – perhaps you have locked yourself out of your home and need a locksmith, or have a burst pipe that requires a plumber – you should check if you have home emergency cover.

Like accidental damage, some level of home emergency may be covered as standard, but add-ons offer a higher level. Typically, the cost of temporarily halting a domestic disaster is covered. Watch out though, as home insurers can be a bit vague about what constitutes an emergency.

If you don't have emergency cover, never fear as some providers, such as Direct Line, allow you to add cover for an emergency that is taking place at that exact moment.