Boiler cover can be a lifesaver. While much of the physical structure of your property is unlikely to let you down, an appliance with gas or electrical power and running water is much more likely to have issues. Now there’s obviously a difference between a house and a home and your boiler is very much part of the latter.
If your boiler breaks down the cosy warmth of your home will disappear fast, plunging you into the Victorian era with no central heating or hot water. But rather than face a Dickensian ordeal of an expensive repair, your boiler and central heating system could be covered by your house insurance.
Recent figures from uSwitch show that the average cost of repairing a boiler comes to £314 and each winter about 20% of homes experience problems with central heating system.
At Emerald Life we provide home emergency cover as a great optional add-on with our standard buildings and contents insurance, and home emergency cover includes a fast response to boiler breakdowns, subject to our terms and conditions. With one call to us, an approved contractor can come to your home and make emergency repairs including boiler cover.
The policy will pay up to £500 for all contractor’s costs and charges and parts used for the complete breakdown of your central heating system. That includes the boiler, pipes, radiators and water tanks.
Note that to be elligible the boiler must be under 15 years old and have had a service within the last 12 months.
Get a quote online now and see the benefits of central heating and boiler cover in our insurance policy.
We understand how important central heating is, especially to some of our more vulnerable customers, and so believe that your heating should be a key part of your home cover. Boiler breakdown can be a sudden and serious issue and it’s an easy way to spot a good insurance policy with a brand that cares about its customers.
Cover for boiler repairs or your hot water system is just one of the perks of the boiler insurance provided by home emergency cover alongside cover for plumbing issues, lost keys, power supply issues and even alternative accommodation if your home is made unfit to live in.
Table of Contents
The Emerald Life Difference
Emerald Life was set up to bring more equality and diversity to the insurance sector. Insurance didn’t seem to look out for the vast majority of society who don’t fit a traditional family model. Policies seemed outdated and often unhelpful.
Cover for home emergencies is one of those. With modern family structures and constraints on time, it is more important than ever that unforeseen issues are fixed quickly and effectively before they cause major disruption to your life.
We generally find our prices very reasonable, but we’ll also try to beat your existing renewal if it is more expensive than a quote from us for the same cover. Email us today to see if we can beat your renewal.
We also aim to avoid a lot of the unethical practices of many big insurers in the industry such as hiking the prices of loyal long-term customers significantly in order to pay for big offers to attract new customers. You may also find we are not on a lot of comparison sites in order to pass on maximum savings to you for coming direct.
Compare Boiler Cover
It is important to shop around to get peace of mind and find the boiler cover that suites your needs. Boiler cover is often sold as its own boiler insurance policy which is different to our own policy which includes boiler repairs as part of our home emergency cover.
You will find that different forms of central heating or boiler insurance have very different types of cover. For instance, we will pay £500 towards emergency repairs as part of boiler cover. However, this is unlikely to be enough to cover a full boiler replacement. Other policies may have a higher limit here.
Make sure you read policy wordings, cover limits and check the exclusions of every policy so you have peace of mind. We exclude boilers that are more than 15 years old or those that haven’t been serviced in the last year. Most insurers will expect you to keep your boiler in good working order to be included in their boiler cover.
What If I Need A New Boiler?
Our boiler cover is intended for repairs and minor boiler breakdown rather than a full replacement. You can see this by the fact our boiler cover includes up to £500 for each emergency. A full boiler replacement can cost thousands of pounds and this is not an insured issue – it would be the same as thinking that your insurance would pay for a new TV if yours just broke on its own.
Fitted costs for a new boiler installation are around £1,600 – £3,500 for a combi, £1,400 – £2,500 for heat-only and £1,500 – £2,800 for a system boiler, according to theheatinghub.co.uk.
Insurance is usually aimed at unforeseen circumstances and boiler cover is no exception. As such if your boiler is new then you can expect some manufacturers warranties to safeguard against issues and house insurance with boiler cover is also likely to be helpful.
But if your boiler is old then you need to be prepared for a full replacement to keep your central heating going. As with the many costs of house ownership like new roofs, windows and coats of paint, it is wise to keep a saving aside ready for costs like a new boiler which insurance is unlikely to pay for.
However, that doesn’t mean you should go without insurance as your buildings policy could cover huge costs that could be impossible to save for – such as a fire or major flood.
There is no legal requirement to have buildings insurance in place, but doing so could be a valuable investment. On the other hand if you own a property with a mortgage then your lender may require you to have buildings insurance to protect their interest in the physical structure of your property.
As buildings insurance is a good thing to have anyway, and we provide some boiler cover with our home and contents policy, then you may want to consider the advantages of an Emerald Life home policy with a good amount of protection for your central heating system.
Property Owner Liability Cover
Another important feature of house insurance is liability cover in case someone is injured on your property and sues you. That could include people working on your boiler, as well as guests and other visitors. Most good house insurance provides liability cover to help with legal costs if an accident were to occur.
Generally liability cover comes in bands of £2 million or £5 million. As with any policy you should check all necessary documentation and exclusions to make sure you get the cover that is right for you.
Other Insurance Extras
Central hearing or boiler cover is not the only additional cover we can include. We also provide free legal cover that again is normally a paid extra for most insurers.
Legal cover can help with legal costs associated with unfair dismissal at work, social media defamation and a range of other legal issues. It also includes a legal advice helpline open 24/7, 365 days a year.
