Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t make a claim, we won’t increase your renewal price in year two.
The only times prices may change are:
if you made a claim
if the original plan included a promo discount, or
if inflation requires a small adjustment
We can offer like-for-like home emergency cover, including plumbing, drainage, electrics, heating, boiler breakdowns, and more. You’ll get comparable protection at a much better price*.
Many big providers automatically increase renewal prices - even when you haven’t made a claim. At HEA, we don’t think that’s fair. If you haven’t claimed, we won’t hike your renewal next year.
High winds can break, or loosen roof tiles, and even a tiny gap can let in a lot of water during a storm. This in turn can cause costly water damage to your home.
Home insurance protects your belongings after damage has already happened. Home emergency cover helps you fix sudden, urgent problems straight away - things like boiler breakdowns, burst pipes, blocked drains, heating failures, or loss of power.
It depends on the level of cover you pick, but you can protect things like:
Boiler breakdowns
Heating failures
Plumbing and drainage issues
Broken toilets
Electrical emergencies
Security issues (broken locks, windows, doors)
Roof damage from storms
Pest infestations
Alternative heating if needed
A home emergency is usually a sudden issue that needs urgent attention - for example, loss of heating or hot water, a plumbing leak, or a blocked drain. What’s covered can vary by plan, so it’s always best to check the policy documents and product information.
Yes - winter is peak season for frozen pipes, boiler breakdowns, and leaks. One emergency call-out can cost more than a full year of cover.
Yes, all our home emergency plans include 24/7 365 emergency call outs, for plumbing, drainage, boiler, heating, and more.
You could save up to £431 a year - that’s as much as 78% off compare to some renewal prices from British Gas or HomeServe. The exact saving depends on the plan you choose (i.e. boiler and heating, complete).
Here’s how it works - quick, simple, and stress-free:
Call us - or fill out our online form - within 48hrs of the problem starting (after this, it wouldn’t be considered an emergency, and wouldn’t be covered).
We’ll aim to get help out to you as soon as possible - our emergency line is open 24/7, 365.
Once everything’s sorted, just sign to say you’re happy, and we’ll take care of the bill directly with the engineer (within your cover limits).
You’ll find everything you need - including contact details on our claims page.
A quick heads-up - there’s an extra £60 excess to pay if:
you make a claim in the first 90 days of your cover
your boiler is over 10 years old
Our price promise is designed to keep things fair and simple. If your renewal price is for the same level of cover, just let us know within 30 days and we’ll match it. Here’s how to qualify - don’t worry, it’s straightforward:
The renewal price you’ve been offered must be for a like-for like plan
The price needs to be the final amount, including VAT, IPT, and any extra fees - and not a promo, membership, or special discount
The alternative provider’s plan must be currently available to buy
Send us your renewal letter or email quote (clearly named and dated) within 30 days of buying your HEA policy so we can verify it
Our price promise can’t be used alongside cashback or other external discounts
If the renewal price you’ve received is clearly a pricing error, we won’t be able to match it
The promise can’t be added to policies you’ve already purchased before asking
And lastly - we may update or withdraw the price promise from time to time, but we’ll always honour it if you’ve already qualified
Friendly, fair, and easy - how switching should feel.
Yes, we cover missing, broken, or loose tiles under our ‘Secure’ add-on. We’ll arrange emergency repairs to prevent water damage to your home.
If you’ve supercharged your plan to include non-emergencies, we’ll be able to help - just remember to let us know within 48 hours of spotting the problem.
We’ll book an engineer as soon as we can, but because it’s not urgent, the wait time may be slightly longer than an emergency callout.
Yes, you can add a boiler service to any of the home emergency plans we offer, for just £90 (don’t worry - even though our service isn’t ‘free’ we’re cheaper than our competitors anyway).
It’ll help keep your boiler efficient, safe, and less likely to fail when you need it most.
It gives you added peace of mind that in the event of an emergency, you can in one phone call to Home Emergency Assist have access to an extensive network of professionally qualified tradesmen who are ready to assist you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, resolving the emergency situation and preventing any further damage to your home.
Learn more about why home emergency cover is worth it.
We cover wasps' nests, hornets' nests, rats and/or mice.
A non-emergency (or breakdown) is a sudden and unforeseen malfunction which results in the unit or system no longer working or operating correctly.
Non-emergencies would include repairing dripping taps, replacement of leaking pipes and thermostats/temperature timings.
This is only available with our 'Premium' home emergency insurance packages.
An emergency is classed as a sudden or unforeseen event which, if not dealt with quickly would:
Render the home unsafe or insecure
Damage or cause further damage to the home
Cause personal risk to you
Cause a health and safety risk to others
Emergencies would include the complete loss of heating and/or hot water or failure of your plumbing and drainage system.
When you purchase home emergency or appliance cover from us, you may pay an introductory price. So, if your home emergency or appliance price has changed recently, it may be because your introductory price and any associated discounts no longer apply.
Your renewal price will reflect the risk and cost of covering your boiler, central heating, plumbing, drainage or appliances etc, but we’ll try to make sure you don’t see a big price increase in one go. Instead, we’ll try to spread any price rise over a few years.
For more information on what can affect the price of your policy, visit our Pricing Explained page.
We offer cover for a range of home emergencies and services including: plumbing and drainage insurance, boiler and central heating cover, gas and electrical supply cover, home security cover including pest infestation, and boiler servicing.
We can also cover over 30 different appliances against mechanical and electrical breakdown as well as accidental damage.
Discover more about what home emergency cover includes at Home Emergency Assist.
Our UK-based claims team answer 90% of calls within 20 seconds and fix up to 99% of emergencies during the first call-out (this does depend on the specialism).
Typically, an engineer is deployed within 4 hours (on average) of your phone call and 70% of all jobs are booked whilst you’re on hold, taking less than 15 minutes on average from the start of the first call.
The home emergency claim line is open 24/7 365 days a year to ensure a dedicated emergency service should you need us.
Although we can’t cover you for pre-existing faults with our home emergency cover, if you speak to us today, we can put you in contact with our network of fully qualified engineers to help resolve your problems on a ‘pay on use’ basis. This means you’d be responsible for all costs involved.
After your issue has been resolved, if you then choose to take out home emergency cover for future breakdowns, we’d be happy to help.
Yes, if you are a homeowner. We offer a variety of packages – take a look through our website to see which one would be right for you, or if you prefer you can tailor a package to your individual needs. Call us on 0333 00 32 999 to discuss the options. We are open 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 3.30pm on Friday. Please note that cover does not extend to pre-existing faults or conditions.
Find out more about how home emergency cover can protect your home.
Your home emergency cover price depends on a variety of factors. We’ve put together a helpful ‘pricing explained’ guide so you can see the criteria your quote is based on.
No, this type of policy does not cover the general maintenance of your home.
Yes, where a permanent repair is completed, we'll guarantee the work for 12 months from the date of the claim.
Yes, if the property (flat or house) is your main permanent place of residence and is owned and occupied by you and your family as a private residence.
We cannot cover properties in the following circumstances:
It's used for commercial reasons
The property is rented/used as a bedsit or multiple occupancy
It's unoccupied for a period of more than 60 consecutive days
It's a park home or mobile home (whether owned or rented)
No, our home emergency cover is only available to homeowners so as a tenant you don’t qualify for this policy. We’re also unable to cover social or housing association tenants. If you’re a council tenant, repairs are dealt with by the council. If you purchased your home in conjunction with a Housing Association, you’re eligible to apply for this cover, however we recommend that you check your responsibilities for the property first with your Housing Association.
Need extra support? We can help.
We offer additional support for people who are in vulnerable or difficult situations. This may be due to a disability or illness or simply because you're going through a difficult time. You can register if:
you are over 80
you have a disability or long-term illness
you rely on certain medical equipment in your home
you have children younger than 5 at home
you're recovering from hospital treatment
We'll make a note of what you've told us on your record - with your permission - so that we can support you in the most appropriate way.
Yes, absolutely! We only work with fully accredited tradesmen. All tradesmen are carefully vetted and have to supply us with copies of their public liability certificates. We also validate their trade qualifications and all tradesmen that work with us agree to work towards attaining our high service standards.
Based on a three bed semi-detached property with 10 radiators (the average in the UK), with a boiler aged 8-9 years old, you will pay:
| Cover | Competitor | HEA |
|---|---|---|
| Boiler & Heating (£0*) | £29.92 | £21.98 |
| Boiler & Heating (£60*) | £19.03 | £17.58 |
| Complete Cover (£0*) | £44.57 | £31.59 |
| Complete Cover (£60*) | £25.55 | £25.23 |
* Refers to excess payable at point of claim.
^All packages include a boiler service. Prices correct as at 10.03.2025.
Switching your home emergency and/or appliance cover to us couldn’t be simpler. Call us on 0333 00 32 999 and we can set up your cover straight away or you can get a quick quote online - it only takes 5 minutes. We will also provide you with a change of insurer form for you to send to your existing provider, making it easy to cancel your existing arrangement and move over to us.
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About us
HEA is an Appointed Representative of Insure Group Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 584710). HEA is a company registered in England (08279496). VAT registration number: 315 9487 76. Registered address: Arena Business Centre, Holyrood Close, Poole, Dorset, BH17 7FJ, UK.
