central heating servicing

[pistonbroke]

Just got the renewal for our Worcester boiler insurance service . this is through Worcester Bosch , Wifey has been paying this annually by D.D. 

The renewal charge is now £281.28  P/A or £23.44 PCM . 

I thought this excessive so looked online to find the same or similar service offered for less  than half the price quoted  , several different companies  a lot cheaper , one of which is 

 Scottish Power , and underwritten by Domestic & General Ins. the same insurer who underwrites the our Worcester Bosch policy 

Seems we are being ripped off big style here 

Wondering if anyone can recommend  a decent boiler insurance at a reasonable price

TIA 

[CraigHew]

We user British Gas HomeCare, but it's probably £20 per month.  I did speak with them a couple of years back and they kindly reduced it to 15 (to remain competitive) but the follwing year it crept back up.

On the plus side we have had a handful of minor problems which have been sorted quickly and easily by their engineers.

It's sod's law that the day I cancel it the boiler will go pop.

[pistonbroke]

Less likely in te summer months 

[Rusty Nuts]

Try Homeserve, I've got plumbing and drain cover for .50p a month, they do boiler cover for £8 a month.

HomeServe

[pistonbroke]

4 hours ago, Rusty Nuts said:

Try Homeserve, I've got plumbing and drain cover for .50p a month, they do boiler cover for £8 a month.

HomeServe

reading the small print , have to pay £95 for each call out plus ......

What happens after the first year?

The price will increase at renewal. Currently customers in their second year are paying £17.25 a month, £207.00 for the year for this policy (which includes the cost of the boiler service), provided they have made no claims.Your cover will automatically renew unless you tell HomeServe otherwise.

[Olliebeak]

Just get a reliable heating engineer and pay for annual servicing, had mine for over twenty years and he really knows his stuff.   

[SootySport]

Your boiler insurance is expensive, only 3 years worth of premium will buy a new boiler.

[jim_l]

I think these policies are a rip off, sold by scaremongering.  

Firstly you shouldn't have to insure it, it is a quality product that you have paid good money for, and a reasonable expectation is that it lasts 6 to 10 years, maybe more. You should be able to rely on the protection of the Consumer Rights Act.  If in the first 5 or 6 years you were faced with replacing it or a significant repair bill I would expect Worcester Bosch to help you out. 

So I would ensure it is serviced and leave those premiums in a 'contingency' account , if the boiler does last 10 years you are £2000 or so better off, worst case you have to replace it in years 6 to 10 , by which time you have the price of a boiler in the bank. 

You might be surprised how often reputable companies react positively when a product doesn't meet expectations, bearing in mind that you will be in the market for a replacement at some point.   I had a Sony laptop approaching 4 years old that stopped working,  I wrote a very polite letter explaining that it had fallen short of my expectations for the brand.  They didn't have access to the parts to fix it and very promptly offered me 25% of what it had cost me to put towards a replacement.  This is consistent with the Consumer Rights Act, they give you a refund but deduct a sum for the fair use you have had. 

 

 

 

[jeff oakley]

You have to look at everything in the fine print to see the value. Some cover parts as well which can be a saving others only certain parts. 

For myself, we have it serviced every other year and have never had to replace a boiler in any house we have lived in, most were 20 plus years old when we moved.

The upside of having cover is you get quicker turnout usually as they have more than one engineer to come out when they are busy.