Money Saving Expert Offers Boiler Cover Tips
It’s never a good time to lose your central heating or hot water, but with winter fast approaching, now is the prime time for your boiler to breakdown.
Most people give very little thought to their boiler, at least until the unthinkable happens and it suddenly starts to play up – or worse, completely breaks down.
A recent report from price comparison website uSwitch revealed that one in five households experienced problems with their boiler last winter, which left many householders out of pocket by more than £300.
uSwitch also reported that six in ten households do not invest in boiler insurance, and that most people only start to think about boiler cover when they find themselves faced with a broken down boiler and hefty bills.
Money saving expert and consumer campaigner Martin Lewis has put together some top tips for people contemplating taking out boiler cover in the run up to winter:
- Do you actually need boiler cover – if you live in rented accommodation, it’s your landlord who is responsible for the property’s boiler. Also, most companies won’t insure your boiler if it’s over a certain age.
- Boiler cover vs self-insuring – rather than paying for insurance cover, some people prefer to ‘self-insure’, which essentially means just sticking some cash into a savings account to pay for repairs should your boiler breakdown.
- Work out the type of cover you need – there are various levels of cover, from boiler only to boiler and central heating; it pays to ensure that you’re not under-covered – or over-covered.
- Compare the market – remember that you don’t have to get your boiler cover from your energy supplier, so search around for the best deal by using sites like uSwitch and MoneySupermarket. It can also be worth contacting the big energy companies, like E.On and npower who don’t always feature on comparison sites.
- Before signing anything, always check the policy; what it covers and what it doesn’t, etc.
To read Martin’s money saving tips in full, visit https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/boiler-insurance/
