Don't cry over DIY

CASHPOINTS

n If you are planning some DIY this Bank Holiday weekend, check your insurance, says Zurich Municipal. Most buildings policies do not cover damage resulting from faulty workmanship, it warns, and you may need "additional accidental damage cover" - which will cover mishaps such as putting your foot through the ceiling or spilling a tin of paint over the carpet.

n The Share Centre, a firm of stockbrokers based in Tring, is offering to sell windfall shares of Colonial, the Australian insurer, for 2 per cent (minimum pounds 27.50). Over 200,000 UK policy-holders of Colonial were due the shares, which started trading on the Sydney stock market last week. Call 0345 697502.

n The Retirement Insurance Advisory Service is offering a 10 per cent discount to people who take out its Garden Secure insurance policy in the month following the Chelsea Flower Show. The policy offers up to pounds 750 of cover a year for trees, shrubs, boundary walls and fences. Call 0800 552100.

n One in five adults would be prepared to pay pounds 12 a month for dental insurance, according to research by Mintel. Only 5 per cent of people currently have insurance, and on average they are paying less than this figure.

n Mercury European Privatisation investment trust is planning to buy back more of its shares in coming weeks in an attempt to narrow the discount to the value of its under-lying investments that its shares currently trade at - so lifting returns to investors. This discount has been more than 15 per cent recently.