Almost 20% of homeowners experienced property damage as a result of adverse weather conditions, new figures show.

In a survey of almost 9,000 AA members and Home Insurance customers, 19.39% reported that their property had suffered at least minor damage caused by weather in the 24 months preceding October 2016.

Of the 20%, 16.84% stated that only minor damage had occurred, while just over 1% had seen major damage occur to their property in the 12 months preceding the survey.

“Even minor damage can be disruptive and expensive," Director of Consumer Affairs Conor Faughnan at AA Ireland said. “Last winter’s storms affected a lot of people; roof tiles, gutters, gates and damage caused by debris. Simple things can cause big problems."

Gale force winds was the principle cause of the property damage that occurred in this period, with 60.29% of those surveyed identifying high winds as the main cause of the damage.

Meanwhile, 44.78% had their property damaged as a result of heavy rain fall, with 7.14% indicating that fallen trees/branches or ice/snow had caused the majority of the property damage.