Does home insurance cover boilers?

Is a boiler breakdown covered by home insurance?

If your boiler has been damaged due to an insured event, you may be able to claim for the cost of a repair or replacement. Insured events include damages to your boiler from things like fire, floods, storms, theft or vandalism.

If your boiler has broken down due to anything else, like wear and tear or poor maintenance, you'll often need to pay for the repair yourself. However, home insurance providers often offer add-on cover with their standard policies. If you're checking the level of cover you have, consider the below.

Optional add-ons for home insurance

Accidental damage cover

If your home insurance includes accidental damage cover, you may be able to claim for a boiler repair if something goes wrong with your boiler because of an accident. For example, while decorating or doing DIY.

Home emergency cover

Unlike standard home insurance, home emergency cover can cover boiler repairs and arrange for a heating engineer to come out and sort the problem. Some might even help with the cost of a replacement boiler if yours can't be repaired. Every provider will have different inclusions, exclusions and cover limits.

Top tip: Check your policy! The above list is based on common themes found across basic home insurance policies. Every home insurance provider is different and it's important to check your policy information to see what you're personally covered for.

What do boiler warranties cover?

If you've recently had a new boiler installed, it will usually come with a manufacturer's warranty, either included for free or at an additional cost.

What's covered will vary between manufacturers. An Ideal warranty will be different to a Baxi warranty for instance. As an example, boiler warranties can include the following:

• Repairs to faulty parts caused by manufacturing defects
• Replacement parts and labour costs for covered repairs
• Engineer callouts arranged through the manufacturer or approved repair network
• In some cases, a replacement boiler if a fault cannot be repaired

However, boiler warranties don't cover every breakdown. They usually only cover the boiler and not the gas supply pipe, thermostat, flue or surrounding pipework.

Check your warranty documents for:

• Which parts are covered
• If parts and labour are included
• Any exclusions that invalidate your warranty

To keep your warranty valid, you'll usually need to arrange an annual boiler service and follow any other conditions set out by the manufacturer.

Does home insurance cover boiler replacement?

Similar to boiler repairs, standard home insurance does not generally cover boiler replacement costs unless the breakdown was caused by an insured event. However, there are other ways to help with the costs of a boiler replacement when yours breaks down:

• Specialist boiler cover: Boiler cover policies can include a boiler replacement if yours is beyond repair, or they may offer to help you with some of the costs instead. What’s included can change depending on how old the boiler is when it breaks down.
• Claim on your boiler warranty: If your boiler is in warranty and the breakdown is covered then you may be able to get the boiler replaced.
• Home emergency cover add-ons: If you’ve purchased a home emergency cover add on then you may have some level of boiler replacement cover.

What is boiler cover, and how is it different?

Boiler cover is a type of insurance that helps you cover the cost of essential boiler repairs. It’s there to cover the cost of fixing your boiler, while also arranging the repair.

If your boiler stops working, your boiler cover provider will help you do some or all of the below, depending on the level of your policy:

• Pay for the cost of the repair. When you make a claim, you’ll be asked to pay the excess you agreed to when you took out the policy. The rest will be paid for by your provider, up to an agreed claim limit.
• Arrange for a heating engineer to fix the problem. Some boiler cover providers will send a Gas Safe registered engineer to fix the problem, so you don’t have to call around to get quotes and arrange your repair.
• Replace your boiler if it’s beyond repair. Depending on your level of cover and the age of your boiler, some providers may offer a payment towards a new one or replace your boiler entirely.

Boiler cover you can count on

Your home insurance may not always be able to help get your boiler back up and running in the event of a breakdown. That’s where boiler cover helps plug the gap.

With Gas Boiler cover from £6.49 a month and Gas Boiler and Central Heating cover from £8.99 a month, you can pick the level of cover that suits you and be prepared for an unexpected boiler breakdown.

Need a boiler service, too? You can add an annual boiler service to your policy for an additional cost, to help keep your boiler running smoothly.