Beware A Boiler Break Down!

Homecall+ has launched a product it claims to be the UK's most competitive boiler breakdown cover -- but how does it compare against its rivals?

The company says it can cover boiler breakdown and include an annual inspection all for £99 a year under its `Evergreen' cover. Policies from rivals such as British Gas, Domestic & General and Homeserve all charge over £100 with many policies not including the all-important annual inspection. The inspection is important, says Homecall+, to ensure that policyholder's boilers run at maximum efficiency.

The Homecall+ Evergreen policy covers breakdown of both gas and electric heating systems. It will also pay out for the repair of central heating and hot water system breakdown up to a cost of £500 or, if the boiler is beyond economical repair, £500 towards the cost of a new one.

HomeCall+ also has a `Rainbow' policy, offering full cover for `just about anything that might go wrong' in the home for £120 a year. This includes emergency repairs to electrical wiring, plumbing, drains, broken doors and windows causing a security risk, replacement of locks following loss of keys, pest control, plus boiler, heating and hot water system breakdown.

Other options

A quick surf of the internet shows that householders have plenty of choice when it comes to heating cover and boiler insurance. Policies are offered by a number of energy providers such as British Gas, nPower and Powergen, but also by insurance companies including Direct Line, Endsleigh and Norwich Union. There are also a number of specialist companies such as Homeserve, CoverHeat and Domestic & General that offer insurance too.

Company	Product name	Annual cost	Max cover per year	Features
Homeserve	Easy Pay Gas Central Heating Cover	£107.88	Unlimited	Included: Boiler, pump, flue, controls, system, radiator valves, spare parts, labour Not included: System scale damage, boiler scale damage, safety inspection, boiler/unit service, call out guarantee Policy Excess: £50
Domestic & General	HeatGuard Silver Plan Plus	£132	£1,500	Included: Boiler, heating system, radiators, controls, pump, scale damage Not included: Flue, initial/annual inspection, initial/annual service, guaranteed emergency call out
CoverHeat	Home Protection Plan	£150	Unlimited	Included: Boiler, controls, pump, spare parts, system, radiators, labour, initial safety inspection, safety inspection, initial boiler/unit service, boiler/unit service, guaranteed emergency call out Not included: Flue, system scale damage, boiler scale damage
EDF Energy	Gas Central Heating Cover	£191.28	£1,500	Included: Boiler, heating system, radiators, controls, pump, initial inspection & service, annual inspection & service, guaranteed next day emergency call out Not included: Flue, scale damage
British Gas	HomeCare 200	£192	Unlimited	Included: Boiler, heating system, radiators, controls, pump, scale damage, initial inspection & service, annual inspection & service, tailored pricing after the first year

British Gas' Homecare policy is probably the best known. But it has come in for some bad press over the years, with stories ranging from appointments not being available for several days, engineers not turning up when agreed, hard sell tactics, and engineers condemning heating systems as dangerous or obsolete -- when a second opinion reveals they are perfectly capable of functioning adequately.

Before you sign up to any heating or boiler policy, check the small print. Some plans include an annual inspection while others don't. Some policies include the flue (the tube where the fumes escape) but others don't. You will find that all plans are subject to some kind of limitation; some will have financial limits on the amount you can claim, or on the number of call outs you can have per year.

How much are you covered for?

Although Homecall+ is cheap compared to competitors, it only covers repairs up to £500. Rival Homeserve's Easy Pay Gas Central Heating Cover costs just a few pounds more at £107.88 but provides unlimited cover for the boiler, pump, flue, controls, system, radiator valves, spare parts and labour. Coverheat's Home Protection Plan and British Gas' Homecare 200 also offer unlimited cover.

Other policies such as Domestic & General's HeatGuard Silver Plan which costs £132 a year and EDF Energy's Gas Central Heating Service Cover at £191.28, cover up to £1,500 worth of repairs.

But do you really need boiler and heating cover at all?

If you have just got a new boiler installed you'll be covered by the manufacturer's warranty for between one and three years so there's no real need for cover until this expires. Boilers are more likely to break down the older they get and research by Which? suggests that one in three boilers will break down in the first six years.

If you have an old boiler and think insurance might be a good idea, it may be worth checking to see whether you are already covered under your home insurance policy. Some home insurance policies offer basic cover for breakdowns or you can add on more comprehensive cover.

In summary, like any non-compulsory insurance whether you should buy boiler /heating cover or not depends on the likelihood of you needing it as well as how financially crippled you'd be by an unexpected bill. My opinion is that if you have a boiler more than about three years old and can't afford to shed out £500 in the event of it breaking down, some kind of cover is definitely worth having. So, despite a relatively low cover level, Homecall+ could well be worth a go.