What Is The Best Boiler Insurance?
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Discover the methodologyHome insurance can cover plenty of items, but does it cover your boiler? And if it does, how well are you covered?
Life without a working boiler is difficult - no hot water for your bath or washing up, and no heating in winter - so taking out the right boiler cover is a big stress-buster.
In this guide, we will explain all you have to know about boiler insurance, what it includes and excludes, and how much you might need to pay.
Let's dive in!
What is boiler cover?
Boiler cover is a policy that covers you if your boiler breaks down.There are different types of boiler insurance:
- Boiler cover: which covers only the boiler itself and its controls.
- Boiler cover with servicing, which includes an annual service to make sure your boiler is in good order.
- Boiler cover plus central heating cover which will also include any damage to your central heating system.
- Home emergency: which covers all kinds of problems including your electrical wiriing and plumbing as well as your boiler.
This kind of policy is made to give you peace of mind. Boilers can misbehave, and can be very expensive to replace!
What does boiler cover can help you with?
Boiler insurance can include:
- Boiler repair - always included in basic boiler insurance
- Boiler replacement
- Central Heating repairs
- Plumbing and drainage repair
- Electrical wiring
- Pest control
There are policies that include annual servicing of your boiler, to make sure your boiler is in good condition.
Depending on which boiler insurance you choose, you will be covered for boiler repair only, or you could be insured for more than just your boiler.
Does home insurance cover boiler?
Boiler insurance can sometimes be included in your home insurance; make sure you've checked with your home insurance provider whether this is the case. Boiler insurance is included in Home emergency cover, which is an optional coverage that you can take as part of your home insurance.
If you are renting your home, it is not your task to change or repair the boiler - this is the landlord's responsability. They must have a landlord boiler cover to cover this kind of accident, or pay for it from their own pocket.
How does boiler insurance work?
Usually you are covered for boiler repair and extras that you added to this policy.
But, depending on the insurer, boiler cover can work in different ways:
- Time limit on repairs: this limits the time the engineer can stay.
- Sometimes, you will have a claim limit, for example only one claim per year.
- Age limits on boilers. You won't be able to claim if your boiler is too old.
- A waiting period during which you cannot claim: usually 14 days to 30 days.
Do I need boiler cover?
Having boiler cover can be useful, as the insurer's servicing contract means you'll usually be taken care of faster than if you call a repairer independently. You also know they've vetted the repair service so you get a properly qualified gas safe engineer not a handyman with a van. Boilers usually are expensive, so getting boiler cover means you won't unexpectedly have to pay out a large amount of money for a new boiler.
What are the best insurers to cover boiler?
You will find in this table the best boiler cover, we also indicated cover limits.
| Insurer | Available in Home emergency cover | Boiler repair cover limit | Boiler replacement limit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saga | Yes | Up to £2,000 | Up to £250 | |
| John Lewis | Yes | Up to £1,500 | Up to £1500 | |
| HSBC | Yes | Up to £1,000 | Up to £500 | |
| Barclays Bank | Yes | Up to £1,000 | Up to £750 | |
| More Than | Yes | Up to £1,000 | Up to £500 | |
| Sainsbury | Yes | Up to £1,000 | Up to £500 | |
| Legal and General | Yes | Up to £1,000 | Up to £1,000 | |
| Aviva | Yes | Up to £1,000 | Up to £500 | |
| Sainsbury | Yes | Up to £1,000 | Up to £500 |
| Insurer | Available in Home emergency cover | Boiler repair cover limit | Boiler replacement limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saga | Yes | Up to £2,000 | Up to £250 |
| John Lewis | Yes | Up to £1,500 | Up to £1500 |
| HSBC | Yes | Up to £1,000 | Up to £500 |
| Barclays Bank | Yes | Up to £1,000 | Up to £750 |
| More Than | Yes | Up to £1,000 | Up to £500 |
| Sainsbury | Yes | Up to £1,000 | Up to £500 |
| Legal and General | Yes | Up to £1,000 | Up to £1,000 |
| Aviva | Yes | Up to £1,000 | Up to £500 |
| Sainsbury | Yes | Up to £1,000 | Up to £500 |
| Insurer | Available in Home emergency cover | Boiler repair cover limit |
|---|---|---|
| Saga | Yes | Up to £2,000 |
| John Lewis | Yes | Up to £1,500 |
| HSBC | Yes | Up to £1,000 |
| Barclays Bank | Yes | Up to £1,000 |
| More Than | Yes | Up to £1,000 |
| Sainsbury | Yes | Up to £1,000 |
| Legal and General | Yes | Up to £1,000 |
| Aviva | Yes | Up to £1,000 |
| Sainsbury | Yes | Up to £1,000 |
What are the worst insurers to cover boiler?
You will find in this table the worst boiler cover, we also indicated cover limits.
Available in Home emergency cover | Boiler repair | Boiler replacement limit | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esure | Yes | £500 | No | Boiler |
| Rias | Yes | £500 | No | Boiler |
| Ageco | Yes | £500 | No | |
| Post Office | Yes | £500 | No | |
| Sheila Wheels | Yes | £500 | No | |
| Churchill | Yes | £500 | Up to £250 | |
| Nastwest | Yes | £500 | Up to £250 | |
| Swinton | Yes | £500 | Up to £250 | |
| Coop | Yes | £250 | No |
Available in Home emergency cover | Boiler repair | Boiler replacement limit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Esure | Yes | £500 | No |
| Rias | Yes | £500 | No |
| Ageco | Yes | £500 | No |
| Post Office | Yes | £500 | No |
| Sheila Wheels | Yes | £500 | No |
| Churchill | Yes | £500 | Up to £250 |
| Nastwest | Yes | £500 | Up to £250 |
| Swinton | Yes | £500 | Up to £250 |
| Coop | Yes | £250 | No |
Available in Home emergency cover | Boiler repair | |
|---|---|---|
| Esure | Yes | £500 |
| Rias | Yes | £500 |
| Ageco | Yes | £500 |
| Post Office | Yes | £500 |
| Sheila Wheels | Yes | £500 |
| Churchill | Yes | £500 |
| Nastwest | Yes | £500 |
| Swinton | Yes | £500 |
| Coop | Yes | £250 |
What should I pay attention to while purchasing boiler cover?
When taking out boiler cover, you should pay attention to a few details:
- Is boiler cover included in your home insurance?
- If you take out home emergency cover, usually boiler cover is included.
- How many claims per year can you report? Does your boiler need to be serviced annually.
- You should pay attention to the kind of boiler you have - if your boiler is too old, you won't be covered.
- Is there a waiting period during which you can't claim.
- Often the first year of boiler policy comes with a discount, so don't forget to check out what is the real price after this discount expires.
How much does boiler cover usually cost?
The cost of your boiler insurance will depend on the coverage you chose.
- If you choose boiler-only cover with an annual service, it will be around £330 per year.
- If your cover also includes your whole central heating system, it will cost you around £415 per year.
Average boiler insurance (without service) is about £260 per year.
What are the boiler policy exclusions?
You might not be able to get boiler cover if your boiler is too old at the start of your policy, or on renewal, or the insurer thinks it is beyond economic repair. Different insurers make different decisions, so if you have an oider boiler you may simply find your insurance is more expensive and your choice of insurer is limited.
You may also get a lower payout if the insurer thinks your boiler's problems are due to the fact that you haven't maintained your boiler properly,
