February 22, 2012
Winter is approaching fast, with dark cold nights and temperatures dropping by the day. During winter a greater strain is put on central heating and plumbing systems in holiday homes. It is inevitable that boilers will fail and pipes will burst at holiday cottages. As most self catering
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Winter is approaching fast, with dark cold nights and temperatures dropping by the day. During winter a greater strain is put on central heating and plumbing systems in holiday homes. It is inevitable that boilers will fail and pipes will burst at holiday cottages.
As most self catering holiday let insurance policies have winter heating warranties in the cover (temperatures must be maintained to a specified minimum temperature), it’s essential that you are prepared. Should your heating breakdown, you may be invalidating insurance cover for burst pipes in winter – check with your insurer.
Also, your holidaymakers will expect any heating failure to be repaired quickly or you will likely face a refund request for the cost of the holiday.
As insurance for second homes is unlikely to cover emergency breakdowns, you have two options – take out a separate home-emergency boiler insurance policy or have a trusted qualified engineer on call.
What does home emergency boiler breakdown insurance cover?
Each policy varies so it’s essential to check the terms and conditions, cover typically includes;
Is it worth getting the boiler insured?
Not according to the consumer group Which? It analysed the costs of cover and compared this with the average amount spent calling out engineers. Although insurance gives peace of mind, Which? concluded that it doesn’t make sense financially.
However, if forgoing insurance you should take into account that plumbing bills can soar – with callout charges and repair costs for boilers running into hundreds of pounds. Also, how soon can you get a local engineer at a moment’s notice? During freezing spells they will be inundated with jobs and it could be days before you get a visit, repairs/parts could take longer.
To summarise; if you are opting for boiler insurance that offers limited cover with lots of exclusions, then you may be better to have a trusted local engineer on call instead and use the saved insurance costs for when, and if, something does go wrong.
However, for a self catering cottage, insurance can give valuable peace of mind that your boiler will be repaired should the worst happen – especially if your cottage is constantly occupied in winter.
Bear in mind that if you have a new boiler, this type of cover may not be necessary, as you may be covered by a warranty.
Further reading.
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-1680587/Is-it-worth-getting-the-boiler-insured.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/insurance/8050541/Is-boiler-insurance-worth-getting-heated-up-for.html
Related posts:Dealing with boiler breakdowns at your cottage
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