Boiler insurance gives you the security of having your boiler and central heating protected and serviced regularly. You will have someone to call if either of them breaks down. In the depths of winter, what could be worse than having a broken boiler? With boiler insurance, you will have peace of mind. If something worse happens to your boiler, insurance will pay for the cost of the repairs.
Boiler insurance gives you access to a certified Gas Safe heating engineer who visits your home in an emergency and gets your boiler working again. Such insurance also includes an annual boiler service to prevent boiler breakdown over the course of time. You either make monthly or annual payments for having your boiler covered.
Types of Boiler Cover Plans
Users can choose from different types of boiler insurance plans. You can opt for a plan depending on the make and model of your boiler and your household needs. When you shop for a boiler insurance plan, you will have two basic insurance plans to choose from.
#1: Cover for boiler and controls
This plan covers repairs for boiler breakdown and its control. The provider might also include annual boiler service in their basic plan.
#2: Cover for the whole heating system
This plan covers the boiler and the central heating system. If the flue, pump, and radiators or any other part of the heating system break down, some providers also cover these.
Call-outs and parts and labour are usually included in both plans. Boiler maintenance check and service are also included but if not, you can add them at an additional cost.
Who Needs Boiler Cover?
Even new boilers break down. In fact, a boiler stands a 50 percent chance of breaking down in the first 6 years of its life span. Therefore, households must play it safe and have boiler insurance to cover the cost of boiler repairs.
If you don’t have insurance yet, maybe it’s time you examine your boiler. Look for tell-tale signs that indicate it’s not performing the way it should. It makes sense to have a backup plan to avoid costly repairs.
Quite often, boilers break down when they are overworked. Getting a boiler repaired in winter can cost you a lot of money. The more the damage, the higher the cost of repairs. Another problem is the shortage of qualified heating engineers. Winter is a busy time for boiler repair and service. You might have to wait in line to find the right engineer to even perform basic boiler inspection.
Which Boiler Cover Is Right for Me?
What’s exactly included in the boiler insurance plan varies from one provider to another. Your plan will depend on the type of boiler and heating system.
If your boiler is older than 15 years, it won’t be easy to find a provider who is willing to insure your boiler. Even if you do, you will have a limited cover and a higher premium. It could cost you up to £1,500 to insure an old boiler. In that case, it’s best to consider the cost of the insurance in relation to the cost of replacing the boiler.
Experts recommend choosing the most comprehensive insurance plan that covers the boiler, its control, and the heating system. Annual servicing is also an important feature of a boiler insurance policy. This gives you complete peace of mind in the event of a boiler breakdown.
Why Consider Buying a Boiler Cover?
By now, you must be thinking that avoiding expensive repairs and peace of mind are the only reasons to consider boiler insurance. There are more; such as:
Unexpected boiler breakdown: No matter how great your boiler is, you cannot always predict a fault. Older boilers are at a greater risk of breaking down. Even the high-efficiency modern boiler models can stop working suddenly.
Access to Gas Safe registered engineers: Boiler insurance providers ensure that their customers get access to Gas Safe certified engineers. Whenever you need repairs, you won’t have to look for qualified engineers. You just have to make a claim and the provider will send Gas Safe registered engineer to fix your boiler problem. Therefore, you will get a 1-year guarantee for all the repairs.
Annual boiler service: All boilers need annual service to ensure they are working efficiently and safely. When a Gas Safe engineer will come to your premises for inspecting the boiler, they will also diagnose it for underlying faults. If you pay for the annual boiler service outside the insurance, it costs around £70.
Guide to Choosing the Right Boiler Cover Plan: If you are considering boiler insurance, you must know how to choose the right boiler insurance plan to get the most benefit. These tips will guide your decision:
Number of call-outs: Contact the provider and ask about the number of call-outs. Do you have limited or unlimited call-outs? Take some time to understand the policy cover and ask whether the parts and labour are included in the plan. You might have to pay extra charges every time you call-out an engineer. If that’s the case, look for another provider as it will increase the cost of the cover.
Excess fee: Don’t fall for cheap insurance plans. They usually come at a cost in the form of excess. You could be forced to pay more towards a future claim. This increases the cost of insurance over the long-term.
Type of boiler: Some providers don’t insure certain types of boiler. Before selecting a boiler insurance plan, check whether or not your boiler is covered.
Age of boiler: The age of the boiler can impact the quotes of the boiler cover and your monthly premium. Most insurance providers expect the boiler to be within 7 to 10 years of the gas safe range. If it’s beyond 10 years, you should expect a higher premium and limited cover.
24/7 helpline: It’s extremely important to be able to reach out to a boiler insurance company 24/7. The need to call an engineer can arise anytime. In the situation of emergency, there must be someone you can get in touch with to address your concerns.
Ad-hoc costs: These are additional costs associated with the boiler insurance policy. Are there any hidden costs? Are there parts of the cover you will have to pay out of pocket? Will the insurance premium increase after the first year? These are some questions you must ask before settling with a plan.
Some FAQs about Boiler Cover
What if the boiler cannot be fixed?
Sometimes, the repairs are costly and the engineer suggests getting the boiler replaced. In that case, some providers offer a placement boiler or a contribution towards the cost of the replacement product.
When do I have to pay an excess?
Some policies require you to pay an excess whenever you make a claim. If you have purchased a plan with an excess, you must pay the amount before arranging an engineer for a visit.
How long does a policy last?
Policies last for 12 months and they renew each year automatically. This does not break your care. The providers usually contact you before each renewal.
When does a policy start?
There is a waiting period from the date of purchasing the policy to its application. If you need any services within the first 15 days of the date of sale, you will have to pay out of pocket.
Which boilers are eligible?
These are some determinants of eligibility:
- Good working condition
- Owned by the policy taker
- Under 15 years old
How is boiler insurance different from a home emergency insurance policy?
Boiler insurance is a product that covers boiler break downs. Home emergency insurance, on the other hand, provides protection against a variety of problems. It covers the breakdown of the boiler, central heating system, property damage, pest infestation, plumbing and electricity. It’s the most comprehensive type of insurance. The problem is, you can only claim if it’s a genuine emergency. It does not cover the cost of routine repairs especially if they are not urgent.
What’s not covered under boiler insurance?
Normally, limescale damage and sludge build-up are not covered by boiler insurance. Some providers might cover them though. This sludge causes the boiler to function inefficiently. Your central heating system will need a power flush to get rid of it. A power flush can cost between £350 and £500.
Other things such as central heating, plumbing, and electrics and security are sometimes not a part of the boiler insurance either.
Boiler cover vs warranty – What’s the difference?
Warranty is offered by a manufacturer to protect the consumer in the event of failure of a part of the boiler. Warranties are restricted to a set period. They come with conditions such as fair usage, reasonable wear and tear and servicing the boiler to make the warranty valid, etc. Boiler insurance, on the other hand, is a financial product that protects the boiler and its components from damage. It does not cover manufacturing defects. Therefore, both insurance and warranty serve different purposes. Both are necessary for the same reason.
Do tenants need a boiler cover?
If you are a tenant, your landlord is responsible for boiler insurance, not you. Whenever a boiler problem appears, you need to reach out to your landlord or letting the agent arrange a heating engineer. The landlord will claim and arrange the repairs.
Is Boiler Cover Worth the Money?
A study says households in the UK pay £270 on average whenever they need boiler repairs. 18% of the households had at least one boiler breakdown a year which made them pay about £787million on boiler repairs. Most of the households rely on their savings to pay for the repairs. 13% use credit cards or resort to payday loans. On average, the cost of repairing a boiler is £270 but some households have paid up to £1,250 because of the extent of the damage.
It’s easy to take a well-functioning boiler for granted. However, when the boiler breaks down, it’s expensive to fix it. Not to mention, you and your family will have no excess to hot water and heat during that time period.
Energy prices are already soaring. When the shock of boiler repairs comes along, it can cost over thousands of pounds. This is a serious blow to the finances. To protect your boiler and have peace of mind, households have a choice i.e. buy boiler insurance.
Even if the boiler does not break down during the period of insurance, you will get one benefit – annual boiler service. Therefore, it’s worth checking boiler insurance.
Boiler insurance starts from £5 per month at a minimum. At this monthly cost, you won’t have to worry about boiler breakdown and repairs. Some policies also replace your boiler. This is handy if you don’t have the money upfront to buy a new boiler.
Don’t Rely on Your Home Insurance Only
Your existing home insurance will not be enough to cover boiler repairs. Boiler breakdowns are common. They often happen due to poor maintenance and they are expensive to fix. Therefore, most home insurance policies exclude it from their plan.
You have to buy an emergency home insurance as an add-on to your home insurance policy. It does not cost much but it only covers emergency repairs. This policy does not include parts or labour and you often have to pay the call-out charges. Not all boiler breakdown situations are urgent. Therefore, you cannot rely on emergency home insurance for boiler repairs.
Summing Up
Boiler insurance provides satisfaction to households. It covers the cost of boiler repairs. If you choose a comprehensive plan, it will cover the central heating system as well. It’s a plan that brings a Gas Safe certified engineer at your home whenever your boiler breaks down. This gives you peace of mind. It means in case your boiler shuts down all of a sudden, you can reach out to someone for quality repairs without worrying about the expense.
