Can your boiler be repaired or should it be replaced?

Having your boiler break down, especially when its cold outside, can be worrying and stressful; even more so in light of the coronavirus crisis. This is particularly true when you’re not sure if your boiler needs repairing or replacing completely.

In many cases, your broken boiler can be repaired easily and quickly, restoring your warm home. However, sometimes replacing your old boiler for a new, more efficient model is the best course of action.

So how do you know what’s the best course of action?

Safety first

If your boiler is old, it may not meet current regulations or safety standards. The first thing you should do is consult with a Gas Safe/OFTEC registered heating engineer to make sure that it can be safely repaired. You may find even if it can be repaired, it may still be potentially unsafe and prone to further problems.

By taking out a Complete Boiler and Heating insurance policy with Home Emergency Assist, you can be assured that we will send out a qualified engineer in the event of a complete breakdown of your boiler and, if it were found to be beyond economical repair, a boiler replacement contribution payment would be made*.

Efficiency savings

Even if your boiler can be fixed, you may find that a new boiler would be more energy efficient and therefore that you could save money in the long run.

Rather than paying for repairs, its worth asking yourself if it’s a good opportunity to replace your boiler and make efficiency savings.

However, if your boiler is already a new, energy efficient model, having it repaired by a registered engineer may be the best course of action.

Frequency of breakdowns

If boiler breakdowns are becoming worryingly familiar to you, replacing it with a newer model may be the best option as the cost of repairing an older boiler will only increase over time.

Frequent breakdowns can be stressful too; especially over the winter months, so think about whether you’d want to avoid this stress completely and replace your existing boiler with a newer model, which is likely to be lower maintenance.

If, however, your boiler is a newer model already then repairing it is likely to be the better course of action as frequent problems are unlikely.

Its also worth bearing in mind if your boiler is out of its warranty period as you’ll no longer be covered for breakdowns and will need to cover the full cost of dealing with any issues yourself.

Want to keep your heating running smoothly year-round? Discover our boiler and heating cover, or take out a Complete home emergency plan for total peace of mind. Get a quick, free quote online and find the perfect plan to keep your home cosy! Or explore our full range of plans, including plumbing and drainage, and appliance cover.