Boiler insurance
Encyclopedia
Boiler insurance is a type of insurance
that covers repairs and in some cases the replacement of a home boiler
. It can also cover other parts of the central heating
system and even plumbing and electrics.
But boilers are not usually covered by standard home insurance. They can be very costly to repair or replace so if you own your own home; it is advisable to take out separate insurance for your boiler or central heating system.
You only need to get boiler cover for your home if you are the owner, or if you're the landlord of the property. If you live in social housing or rent from a private landlord then any repairs to the boiler are not your responsibility.
Boiler cover is usually a contract tying you into regular monthly payments for a year.
There are various types of boiler cover available in the UK:
If your annual service isn't included in your boiler cover, a service by a Corgi-registered engineer will set you back anything from £65 to more than £90, however some types of cover will include this in your policy so it will automatically be done each year.
Various types of boiler cover at various costs are offered by British Gas, E.ON, npower
, HomeCall+ and Direct Line.
Most policies have a “no claims” period of between 30 and 45 days to ensure that customers don't sign up simply to avoid paying emergency costs on a boiler that's already broken down since it will typically cost £33 an hour to call out an engineer - or £76 in London.
If your boiler is more than 15 years old you might not be able to get it covered as it will be unreliable and costly to the insurer. In cases like this it might be better to invest in a new boiler.
If your boiler is 10–15 years old then it probably isn’t an energy saving boiler and could be wasting 875 kg of CO2 a year.
By law, all new boilers must now be energy efficient condensing boilers, which could save you at least £150 a year according to the Energy Saving Trust
.
Make sure that you read the small print on any policy that you sign and carefully go over the terms and conditions to make sure that you know how long it will take for an engineer to visit; some will come out within 24 hours, some within a few days and others will limit callouts at weekends to extreme emergencies only.
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
that covers repairs and in some cases the replacement of a home boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
. It can also cover other parts of the central heating
Central heating
A central heating system provides warmth to the whole interior of a building from one point to multiple rooms. When combined with other systems in order to control the building climate, the whole system may be a HVAC system.Central heating differs from local heating in that the heat generation...
system and even plumbing and electrics.
Types of boiler cover
More than 22 million UK households rely on a boiler for their heating and hot water.But boilers are not usually covered by standard home insurance. They can be very costly to repair or replace so if you own your own home; it is advisable to take out separate insurance for your boiler or central heating system.
You only need to get boiler cover for your home if you are the owner, or if you're the landlord of the property. If you live in social housing or rent from a private landlord then any repairs to the boiler are not your responsibility.
Boiler cover is usually a contract tying you into regular monthly payments for a year.
There are various types of boiler cover available in the UK:
- Boiler only
- Boiler and service
- Full heating system
Boiler only
Some types of boiler insurance policies cover only the boiler and heating controls - these are the cheapest types of policy.Boiler and service
Boilers need to be serviced every year to ensure that they run safely and efficiently but it is estimated that four out of ten households neglect to service their hot water and heating systems.If your annual service isn't included in your boiler cover, a service by a Corgi-registered engineer will set you back anything from £65 to more than £90, however some types of cover will include this in your policy so it will automatically be done each year.
Full heating system
The most expensive types of boiler cover will insure not just your boiler and controls but also your full central heating system, including pipes, radiators and valves. You can even get boiler insurance that covers your plumbing and electrical wiring. But this cover will cost around £26 a month, so you should ask yourself whether or not you really need to get all of this covered.Who offers boiler cover?
Many home energy providers offer boiler cover and you don't have to be a customer to take out boiler insurance from that company, nor do you have to take boiler cover from the company that supplies your gas and electricity.Various types of boiler cover at various costs are offered by British Gas, E.ON, npower
Npower (UK)
RWE Npower plc is a UK-based electricity and gas supply generation company, formerly known as Innogy plc. As Innogy plc it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
, HomeCall+ and Direct Line.
Boiler cover exceptions
Each boiler cover policy comes with some exceptions. These range from the amount of times you can call an engineer out to the amount that each repair can cost to what the insurer considers to be an emergency.Most policies have a “no claims” period of between 30 and 45 days to ensure that customers don't sign up simply to avoid paying emergency costs on a boiler that's already broken down since it will typically cost £33 an hour to call out an engineer - or £76 in London.
If your boiler is more than 15 years old you might not be able to get it covered as it will be unreliable and costly to the insurer. In cases like this it might be better to invest in a new boiler.
If your boiler is 10–15 years old then it probably isn’t an energy saving boiler and could be wasting 875 kg of CO2 a year.
By law, all new boilers must now be energy efficient condensing boilers, which could save you at least £150 a year according to the Energy Saving Trust
Energy Saving Trust
Energy Saving Trust is a non-profit organisation jointly funded by the British Government and the private sector in order to help fight climate change by promoting the sustainable use of energy, energy conservation and to cut carbon dioxide emissions in the United Kingdom.-Background:The Energy...
.
Make sure that you read the small print on any policy that you sign and carefully go over the terms and conditions to make sure that you know how long it will take for an engineer to visit; some will come out within 24 hours, some within a few days and others will limit callouts at weekends to extreme emergencies only.