Who needs cover?
There’s absolutely no point in shelling out for cover if you don’t have to; it depends on who’s in charge of heating your home.
Owner occupiers
In general, you should only be getting a boiler/heating policy if you’re an owner occupier. Though even if you are, some property types can’t be covered; eg some types of mobile home where the electrics are not fixed. For those buying new homes, ensure you have the boiler and other gas appliances checked over; it’s one of the most common sources of problems for new owners.
However you may actually already have your boiler covered by your home insurance policy; it’s worth checking before signing up to anything.
If you rent, it’s not your responsibility
If you live in rented accommodation or social housing (owned by a council or Housing Association), your landlord is legally responsible for maintaining and repairing the boiler, gas fittings and appliances, and must have yearly safety checks carried out by a Gas Safe registered gas fitter.
However, it’s important that you discuss with your landlord/association that these checks have actually been done; ask to see safety certificates.
It’s also vital to establish how long, if the heating and boiler were to break down, you would expect to be left in the cold. If it’s a matter of two days or more, ask if this can be changed to a much swifter service; after all, if you’re paying rent, you’re entitled to have a home that, at the very least, is well-heated.
Choosing a policy
Just because you get your gas or electricity from one supplier doesn’t mean you need its insurance too. If they cleverly try and link the two, watch out: it’s usually nonsense. This is an open market and you want to get your hands on the best policy at the cheapest price so let me say this loud and large:
“You don’t have to use your energy provider’s boiler cover!”
Not all policies are the same. As always, it’s vital to set out your priorities to ensure you’re not under or over-covered:
- Boiler only or central heating too? There are usually two types of heating cover offered; the first covers your boiler and controls, and the second includes full central heating cover on top. It’s also possible to find plans whose cover also includes plumbing, drains, electrical wiring and the cost of yearly inspections. Home emergency policies are also available which, as well as covering heating and hot water also cover other emergencies such as plumbing, drains and lost keys. Of course, everything you add on top will load up your premium.
Who needs cover?
There’s absolutely no point in shelling out for cover if you don’t have to; it depends on who’s in charge of heating your home.
Owner occupiers
In general, you should only be getting a boiler/heating policy if you’re an owner occupier. Though even if you are, some property types can’t be covered; eg some types of mobile home where the electrics are not fixed. For those buying new homes, ensure you have the boiler and other gas appliances checked over; it’s one of the most common sources of problems for new owners.
However you may actually already have your boiler covered by your home insurance policy; it’s worth checking before signing up to anything.
If you rent, it’s not your responsibility
If you live in rented accommodation or social housing (owned by a council or Housing Association), your landlord is legally responsible for maintaining and repairing the boiler, gas fittings and appliances, and must have yearly safety checks carried out by a Gas Safe registered gas fitter.
However, it’s important that you discuss with your landlord/association that these checks have actually been done; ask to see safety certificates.
It’s also vital to establish how long, if the heating and boiler were to break down, you would expect to be left in the cold. If it’s a matter of two days or more, ask if this can be changed to a much swifter service; after all, if you’re paying rent, you’re entitled to have a home that, at the very least, is well-heated.
Choosing a policy
Just because you get your gas or electricity from one supplier doesn’t mean you need its insurance too. If they cleverly try and link the two, watch out: it’s usually nonsense. This is an open market and you want to get your hands on the best policy at the cheapest price so let me say this loud and large:
“You don’t have to use your energy provider’s boiler cover!”
Not all policies are the same. As always, it’s vital to set out your priorities to ensure you’re not under or over-covered:
Boiler only or central heating too?
There are usually two types of heating cover offered; the first covers your boiler and controls, and the second includes full central heating cover on top. It’s also possible to find plans whose cover also includes plumbing, drains, electrical wiring and the cost of yearly inspections.
Home emergency policies are also available which, as well as covering heating and hot water also cover other emergencies such as plumbing, drains and lost keys. Of course, everything you add on top will load up your premium.
What level of cover do you want?
Don’t assume all plans provide unlimited cover with uncapped payouts and unlimited call outs. Some only pay for costs up to a certain level per claim and per year (usually £1,000 or £1,500) or limit the numbers of call outs for each 12 months (two, say). Others won’t cover safety inspections or damage from build-up of scale. You should have an annual boiler service so if this is not included in your cover you’ll need to factor in roughly another £70/year.
There are no rights or wrong here, it’s a question of assessing your likely problems. If you’re in a brand new house with relatively new and reliable equipment, then a cheap policy covering the bare essentials will easily do. But if the only thing as regular as clockwork with your boiler is its breakdown schedule, you’ll probably want full cover.
- Will you get help when you need it? Plans usually provide a 24-hour, 365-day helpline to call when you have an urgent heating or hot-water problem and the cost of the call-out, repairs, parts and labour will be paid. Definitions of emergency can vary though; at one point due to over-demand, British Gas was no longer defining a lack of hot water as an emergency, though luckily this is not the case now. Several insurance plans also exclude central heating breakdown claims during the summer months, as this isn’t seen as an emergency.
- Is your boiler model covered? Most popular makes of boiler can be covered but not all, so check before you buy. Also, most plans require a boiler to be below a certain age when the cover is bought, and others will request a boiler inspection before granting cover. Even if you do get cover, boilers over seven years of age may be excluded from being replaced if they go totally kaput. If you can opt for a policy that covers the lifetime of the boiler. You could also find that your old boiler system doesn’t meet the standards requested by your energy provider, in which case you’ll probably have to pay extra – more than £100 in places – to get your heating system revamped before being offered cover.
- Is there a ‘no claims’ period?
Almost all plans include an initial no-claims period, which typically lasts thirty days. To be fair, that’s not unreasonable – otherwise people would simply sign up to plans on the day the boiler breaks down.
Best buys: getting the cheapest cover
Annual prices for policies can vary from tens of pounds to more than a couple of hundred pounds. Rather than manually shopping around, a few specialist web and phone services will do the comparison for you: just type in your details and it will find them for you in about ten minutes.
It’s worth examining all the different options since the price will depend on your boiler and fuel type, level of cover and how you choose to pay.
- What level of cover do you want? Don’t assume all plans provide unlimited cover with uncapped payouts and unlimited call outs. Some only pay for costs up to a certain level per claim and per year (usually £1,000 or £1,500) or limit the numbers of call outs for each 12 months (two, say). Others won’t cover safety inspections or damage from build-up of scale. You should have an annual boiler service so if this is not included in your cover you’ll need to factor in roughly another £70/year. There are no rights or wrong here, it’s a question of assessing your likely problems. If you’re in a brand new house with relatively new and reliable equipment, then a cheap policy covering the bare essentials will easily do. But if the only thing as regular as clockwork with your boiler is its breakdown schedule, you’ll probably want full cover.
- Will you get help when you need it? Plans usually provide a 24-hour, 365-day helpline to call when you have an urgent heating or hot-water problem and the cost of the call-out, repairs, parts and labour will be paid. Definitions of emergency can vary though; at one point due to over-demand, British Gas was no longer defining a lack of hot water as an emergency, though luckily this is not the case now. Several insurance plans also exclude central heating breakdown claims during the summer months, as this isn’t seen as an emergency.
- Is your boiler model covered? Most popular makes of boiler can be covered but not all, so check before you buy. Also, most plans require a boiler to be below a certain age when the cover is bought, and others will request a boiler inspection before granting cover. Even if you do get cover, boilers over seven years of age may be excluded from being replaced if they go totally kaput. If you can opt for a policy that covers the lifetime of the boiler. You could also find that your old boiler system doesn’t meet the standards requested by your energy provider, in which case you’ll probably have to pay extra – more than £100 in places – to get your heating system revamped before being offered cover.
- Is there a ‘no claims’ period?
Almost all plans include an initial no-claims period, which typically lasts thirty days. To be fair, that’s not unreasonable – otherwise people would simply sign up to plans on the day the boiler breaks down.
Best buys: getting the cheapest cover
Annual prices for policies can vary from tens of pounds to more than a couple of hundred pounds. Rather than manually shopping around, a few specialist web and phone services will do the comparison for you: just type in your details and it will find them for you in about ten minutes.
It’s worth examining all the different options since the price will depend on your boiler and fuel type, level of cover and how you choose to pay.