You have a home policy that helps to cover you in the event of a fire or a flood, but what happens when you wake up at 3 a.m. on the coldest night of the year and your boiler has simply stopped working? You’re going to be cold, certainly, and it’s going to cost you quite a bit to phone a 24 hour emergency service to have it fixed immediately.
What if you had an insurance policy to help protect you from those added costs, though? You could if you purchase a home emergency cover policy.
What It Is.
Home emergency cover usually offers you protection in the event of a boiler or plumbing emergency like a burst pipe or blocked drain. Every policy is different, though, and some will help provide you coverage against roof damage, problems with your electricity supply, and any damage to your locks, doors, and windows. There are also sometimes coverage choices for appliance breakdowns and pest infestations inside your house or in the garden.
A typically policy covers the labour costs for the professional who handles the call out, parts, and VAT, but as with any type of insurance, they’re limited. Often that limit is about £500 per claim, but there are some really amazing policies that cover as much as £1,500 per claim. With most, there’s no claim limit, so if you have multiple emergencies within a single month, you’ll still be covered.
Sometimes policies go as far as covering preventative maintenance to boiler systems and discounts on installation of new plumbing or boiler systems to help prevent those emergencies that are so often experienced at the worst possible time.
Can Landlords Buy Home Emergency Cover?
If you own property that you let to others, you can qualify for home emergency cover, but the policy is a bit different. You’ll typically have to decide which elements of your property to cover, and if you need to cover more, you’ll need to find a more comprehensive landlord policy that covers any potential expenses you might experience within that rented property.
How Does It Work?
In most cases, this type of cover works differently from other policies. Typically you’ll be given a number to call in the event of a home emergency. In the example where you wake up in the cold and your boiler isn’t working, you’d simply call the number provided by your insurance company, and they’d dispatch a service to help repair it right away.
Doesn’t My Home Policy Cover This Stuff?
Your home policy may provide some level of coverage, but typically it’s not as comprehensive as home emergency cover. Home policies are designed for big problems, and there are often limits on what you can claim in a given year. So, while they might replace the furniture after that burst pipe, they won’t typically cover the cost of the service call itself, and home emergency cover does just that. This type of coverage is really peace of mind against the little problems life sometimes throws your way.
