Does House Insurance Cover Boiler Repairs UK?

Boiler Repair

Info Provided by Hydro Plumbers Hastings:

When winter months kick in, it’s time for your boiler to be working full time all over again. It can run for several hours every day as it works hard to make sure that your house stays warm with enough hot water supply when nights turn chilly.

But, with all those moving parts, it is almost a guarantee that something will go wrong with your boiler, especially if you got an older one. What will you do if your boiler malfunctions in the middle of winter, then? Can you go and claim the cost of getting it repaired on your house insurance?

Will Your Home Insurance Cover a Boiler Repair?

Standard house insurance typically doesn’t cover the cost of broken boiler repair or replacement. Boiler breakdowns are common and these are usually because of lack of regular servicing or proper maintenance. That’s why it is only understandable for home insurance providers to be wary of offering cover for such problems.

It is highly possible for insurance providers to pay for damages that are the result of a faulty appliance, for instance, that was damaged due to water or oil that leaks from a boiler. But, they won’t be paying for the replacement or repair of the appliance itself.

You might also be able to get additional cover with your house insurance provider that covers your boiler. It is best to get in touch with them to know what they call it although it is typically named emergency home cover or boiler cover. Generally, it doesn’t cost you more than an additional fee of £5 to £10 a month. However, it can give you more peace of mind when you know that you got extra protection in case your boiler suddenly breaks down.

The additional cover can include sending over emergency assistance in the event that your primary heating source fails. This extra cover may also pay towards the price of a new boiler. Just don’t forget to carefully go through the terms and conditions. They might not pay out if your boiler stopped working because of its age or you haven’t serviced it regularly.

When in doubt of whether or not you are covered, you can call the insurance provider or check the documents for your policy and read through them point after point.

Who to Contact for Boiler Repair

Before you go and call someone over to check your boiler, it might be best if you troubleshoot first on your own. For all you know, the problem might be something that you can figure out or fix by yourself. For example, there might be a fault code showing up on the boiler screen that informs you of the issue. You might also have a problem such as an airlock that you can fix with no need to call out a heating engineer.

If you weren’t lucky enough to solve the issue by yourself, the next best step to take is to contact the customer service team of the manufacturer. They can send over a qualified heating engineer to your home to fix the problem. It may be that you need a brand new boiler installation, but always best to check with a reliable heating engineer first.