The findings reveal consumers are spending nearly as much time online as they do sleeping in bed, and are multi-tasking more than ever before, which is leading to a surge in ‘distraction accidents’.

Last year alone, a staggering £62m was spent on repairs and replacements from such accidents, with the amount of ‘distraction damage’ around the home trebling since 2010.

Approximately one million people caused damage to their home or its contents because they were distracted in both 2013 and 2014. However, there has been a steep rise in the number of incidences over the past five years, with just 320,000 recorded back in 2010.

Those aged 35-44 have been the worst culprits for distraction damage and are also the most likely to be heavy multi-taskers, averaging five hours a day on multiple activities.

The most common incidents occurring due to distraction in the home include staining the carpet (34%), starting a fire on the hob (27%) and burning an item of clothing or furniture with an iron (19%). More obscure incidents included putting a foot through the loft floor (11%) or tripping and causing damage to a wall (11%).

Close to a fifth (18%) of incidences of ‘distraction damage’ occur because consumers are texting or chatting on their mobile phones, but watching a programme on TV (10%) or browsing social media (8%) are also to blame. When asked what they found to be the most distracting in the home, consumers ranked TV and mobile phones in the top three.

“With our busy lives and increasing number of tasks on to do lists it is easy to get distracted,” said Selwyn Fernandes, managing director of LV= home insurance.

“We’re here to help if you cause accidental damage to your home or possessions, but it’s worth checking you have adequate cover as not all items are included as standard. By taking care and slowing down you could avoid such damage and potential injury from a slip or a fall in the first place.”

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