What should you consider when getting boiler breakdown cover?

Boiler breakdown cover can protect you from the costs and disruptions caused by an unexpected breakdown of your gas boiler. Unfortunately your boiler or central heating system will probably break down in a cold period, when everyone else has turned on their boilers and the demand for a plumber or heating engineer will be high. Unless you have previously taken out a boiler breakdown cover plan you will be at the back of the queue waiting for an expert to attend your emergency.

Fortunately more and more companies are offering boiler breakdown cover maintenance and repair plans. You can select the level and type of cover you receive and fend off the unannounced costs of a gas boiler breakdown by paying a small monthly charge.

The main boiler breakdown cover suppliers are British Gas with their Homecare plans, npower who offer boiler breakdown plans with their Hometeam plumbers and also Homeserve who have previopusly offered their services through other companies but are now offering boiler insurance under their own brand.

As more suppliers enter the marketplace and the choice becomes bewildering with many diverse service levels and prices. Whilst, apparently, all these boiler insurances appear diverse they fundamentally offer the same components which are outlined below.

Boiler breakdown cover components

In addition to getting priority access to the suppliers trained heating engineers and plumbers one of your prime motivations in taking out a boiler breakdown cover insurance will be the protection from unexpected and unbudgeted costs.

Unlimited, no charge emergency call outs are one alternative to check for – if call out charges are not covered you could find that these exceed the annual cost of the boiler breakdown cover policy. This is a very good feature, especially so when your central heating boiler is getting old or starting to get problems. In addition inclusion of labour and parts is a very important feature as these costs can be substantial following any gas boiler breakdown.

Integrating options for a twelve month gas fired boiler service

To keep your boiler safe and probably also reduce the likelihood of breakdowns in the future it is wise to consider having an annual boiler service. Many boiler breakdown cover plans can include the option of an annual boiler service – a plan like this will mean that you can call-out an experienced plumber to deal with emergency central heating boiler breakdowns but also schedule in a boiler service at your convenience.

There are advantages of having the same company providing emergency boiler breakdown protection and servicing your gas fired boiler. They will also keep track of when your gas fired boiler service is due and get hold of you to make arrangements, which can be very helpful if you have a hard time remembering the due date over the course of a whole year. Some organisations will dismantle gas boiler in the service some will use diagnostic tools, both options seem to have benefits and disadvantages.

Added features

If you value to peace of mind of having boiler and central heating insurance you can also consider including extra cover to protect your plumbing, drains and electrics to mention just a few of the other areas of your home that can cause problems. These cover plans can be taken out separately or, usually at a lower cost, included in your boiler breakdown cover insurance.

Boiler breakdown cover plans – are they worth it?

This depends upon the number of gas boiler problems you have in the future. The contract cost will be easily repaid with your first boiler breakdown not to mention the avoided stress and fuss. Boiler breakdown cover is an insurance and covers you against the risks of something going wrong. Whether these plans are worth it depends upon your viewpoint. If you do not have a boiler breakdown will you think it has been a waste of money or be thankful of a years worry free home heating?

Certainly everyone’s opinion of these boiler breakdown cover plans increases significantly when they call out the services in response to a problem. It is at this time when you appreciate the value of being able to call out trusted and well trained tradesmen to help you.