Kirsty, a Complete Home Emergency Cover customer, from Essex recently had to claim and talks about her experience below:

“Due to the Coronavirus crisis and lockdown, my husband, son and I have all been staying at home a lot more than normal; not to mention, money’s tight as I’ve been furloughed.

The last thing we needed was for our only toilet to start leaking and I couldn’t have been more stressed, wondering if someone would even be able to come out to have a look at it and if they would come out, how long it would take them to get to me. Not only is having a working toilet essential, but I was worried about the potential for water staining too and how much it would cost to fix!

On top of all those worries, I was concentrated about allowing someone from outside my family into my home too, especially thinking about my young son.

I got through to someone on the phone much quicker than expected when I phoned, and they put me at ease straight away, explaining that Home Emergency Assist is still responding to emergency claims, including things like your only toilet not working – luckily for me! They talked me through the process and asked a series of questions about the health of the people in my household and explained that they ask their engineers the same questions to make sure everyone is staying as safe as possible in the circumstances.

It only took a couple of hours before the engineer arrived. He was wearing PPE on his arrival and only brought in the equipment necessary for the job. He was also very thorough in washing his hands (both during the appointment and just before he left). I didn’t have to sign anything either – he just asked for our agreement that we were happy with the work carried out and signed on our behalf.

I felt awful that I couldn’t offer him a cup of tea, but we stuck to our 2-meter distance – and most of the time stayed in different rooms.

Thankfully, the problem seemed quite straightforward to fix – we didn’t have to wait for parts to be ordered and we had a functioning toilet within 3 hours of the original phone call taking place. He then finished by wiping down all the surface with anti-viral wipes. Couldn’t be happier with my experience. Both the lady on the phone was polite and reassuring and the engineer was friendly and knowledgeable. Thank you, Home Emergency Assist!”

To find out more about how we’re here to solve your emergency breakdowns with our boiler and central heating cover including service and other types of home emergency cover, including plumbing and drainage and home appliances cover, contact our friendly team on 0330 09 48 301. You can even request a call back to discuss your requirements or get a quote online.

You’ve probably noticed the stickers on white goods such as washing machines and dishwashers, showing you an energy rating guide.

The information is crucial when you’re shopping for a boiler as it is for large appliances. Being mindful of our energy use and reducing gas emissions is becoming increasingly important. In 2009, the ERP Directive was signed, bringing positive change to improving energy efficiency.

What is ERP?

ERP (or Energy Related Products Directive) is a piece of European legislation which applies to all products that consume energy, including within their manufacturing process. This Directive includes domestic heating products such as boilers, water heaters and other electrically powered products.

The ERP’s Directive is to encourage manufacturers to offer products that are better for the environment by reducing harmful gas emissions. It’s the manufacturer’s responsibility to ensure that their products are ERP compliant and products are only sold if they meet the requirements.

What is boiler efficiency and why is it important?

Boiler efficiency is worked out by evaluating the fuel it converts into usable energy and how much fuel is wasted throughout the process. Depending on the percentage, the product will receive a rating, in the form of a letter, which will help you to identify which products are more energy efficiency.

Heating up your home is a large percentage of your energy bills, so having an efficient boiler is a must. The better your ERP boiler rating, the cheaper your energy bills will be. The Energy Savings Trust estimates that installing a new boiler could save the average household up to £200 every year on their gas bill.

New boiler regulations from 2018 ensure that any boiler installed from April onwards must have an ERP rating of least 92%. This was put in place to help stabilise climate change. It’s important to consider the ERP rating before buying a new boiler to make sure you’re doing your bit to help the environment as well as lowering your heating bills wherever possible.

It’s now also a requirement (post-April 2018), for all new boilers to include programmable timers and thermostats. This enables you to control your heating times, temperatures and to make sure your boiler is only used when needed.

How efficient is my boiler?

Modern condensing boilers are potentially 89-94% efficient whereas a boiler that is more than 20 years old can be as little as 60% efficient.

You’ve probably seen efficiency ratings of A-G on other domestic kitchen appliances and boilers are the same. Modern boilers must be A rated and this will be shown on their literature.

• A: 90% and above
• B: 86-90%
• C: 82-86%
• D: 78-82%
• E: 74-78%
• F: 70-74%
• G: below 70%

Things to consider

• Combi boilers can reduce energy by heating water on demand. This means you’ll never pay for water to be heated which may go unused. This is often a much more energy-efficient solution, especially in a smaller household. You can find out more about the different boilers available by reading our blog post, Types of Boilers and Fuels Explained.

To find out more about our boiler with central heating cover and how our other types of cover are here to solve your home emergencies, including plumbing and drains and home appliance cover, contact our friendly team on 0330 09 48 301. You can also request a call back to discuss your requirements or get a free quote online in minutes!

With so many choices out there, it can be tricky to work out which insurance policies you need to ensure your home is adequately protected should the worst happen. We’ve put together this handy guide for you so you can make an informed decision as to which is the best policy for you.

What is Home Emergency Cover?

A home insurance policy will usually cover the damage caused by a home emergency but doesn’t necessarily cover the repair of the emergency itself.

You can either choose to buy home emergency cover as a standalone policy, or as an ‘add-on’ to your existing home insurance. The option you choose will depend largely on the level of emergency cover your current insurer can provide and how much it costs.

It also helps to ask yourself what emergencies you’re most worried about, the likelihood of that event happening and whether you could afford to fix it by yourself should something go wrong.

Cost of Cover

Typically, an ‘add-on’ to your existing home insurance is the most cost-effective way of buying home emergency insurance but you generally get less cover for your money than you would with a standalone policy.

Are you already covered?

With most home insurance policies, you’re covered for the potential costs involved with an emergency situation, such as replacing carpets following a burst pipe.

However, your home insurance policy wouldn’t generally cover the call-out of a plumber to fix the emergency itself.

The types of situations a home emergency policy could provide immediate assistance for would be:

• The complete breakdown of your boiler and/or central heating
• Damage to or failure of your plumbing and drainage system
• Sudden and unexpected failure of electricity or gas supply
• Damage to/failure of an external lock, door or window that makes your home insecure
• Pest infestation
• Missing, broken or loose roof tiles causing internal water damage

Peace of mind

Many people like the peace of mind that a home emergency policy brings, knowing that any of the above problems will be fixed within a relatively short-time span of phoning up to claim.

Our Home Emergency Cover makes sure that if you suffer an insured event, we will send an approved engineer to your home within four hours on average, taking away the stress of having to find your own tradesman and pay them for any work completed.

For more information on Home Emergency Cover, why not read our article on how to effectively compare home emergency insurance policies?

To find out more about our boiler with central heating cover and how our other types of cover are here to solve your home emergencies, including plumbing and drains and home appliances cover, contact our friendly team on 0330 09 48 301. You can also request a call back to discuss your requirements or get a free quote online in minutes!

With so many different terms used and so many options, it’s difficult to know what type of boiler you have, what the different in the fuel types are and which can be covered under a home emergency insurance policy.

At Home Emergency Assist, we can cover a variety of boiler types and fuels as long as it’s not over 15 years of age, has no preexisting faults and doesn’t have an output in excess of 70kw/hr. Read on to find out more about the types of boiler and fuels we cover:

Combi Boiler

A combination or ‘combi’ boiler is a water heater and central heating boiler in one unit. These boilers heat water directly from the mains when you turn on a tap, so you don’t need a storage tank in your attic.

This type of boiler is both cost-effective and energy efficient as the water is heated instantly rather than being heated and stored in a tank.

Pros

• Ideal for smaller properties and where there is little or no loft space
• You only heat the water you need

Cons

• Better for small households as hot water can only be used for one task at a time; e.g. one person can’t shower while another uses hot water to wash up with

Traditional Boiler

These are also sometimes known as conventional boilers and hot water is stored in a hot water cylinder or storage tank. Often, there’ll be an on/off switch so you can heat the water in the tank when you know you’re going to neet it and switch it off when it’s not in use.

Pros

• Best suited to larger households where several people need to use hot water at the same time on a frequent basis
• Good option for low mains water pressure areas

Cons

• Hot water is not on demand, so once the storage tank has run out of hot water, you’ll have to wait for more to be heated
• Less efficient than a combi boiler

Condensing Boiler

A standard gas boiler works by burning natural gas in order to heat your water. When you burn natural gas, water vapour and carbon dioxide are created as a by-product; these will travel through a flue and escape into the outside atmosphere, taking heat with them. A condensing boiler can capture some of the heat that would be otherwise lost from these by-products, cooling and condensing them back into condensate. This is then used to warm up the cool water that returns from your radiators.

Since 2015, all new boiler installations are condensing boilers as they’re at least 25% more efficient than older models. If your flue is made of plastic rather than metal, you most likely have a condensing boiler.

Pros

• These are extremely efficient (a good condensing boiler can achieve efficiency of over 90%) meaning they make the fuel you’re burning go further and are much more eco-friendly.
• Safer than non-condensing boilers

Cons

• A straightforward gas boiler replacement can typically cost around £2,300
• Require an extra pipe to drain away the condensate liquid.

Types of Fuel

Most UK households are connected to mains gas for their heating and hot water however, properties that aren’t connected to the mains grid will have to find an alternative solution. There are approximately 4 million people in the UK currently not connected to the mains grid for gas.

Unlike some insurers/service providers, we cover boilers that run on three types of fuel:

• Gas: this is the most common type of fuel for homes connected to mains gas. This is still generally the cheapest fuel type and isn’t reliant on being delivered by road. You also don’t have to rent/buy a storage tank.
• Oil: An alternative for homes that don’t have mains gas. Oil boilers are typically more expensive to run than gas. Oil boilers also tend to be more expensive to buy/maintain than common gas powered boilers.
• LPG: Liquid Petroleum Gas is delivered to your door and stored in a gas tank on the property. Like natural gas, it’s very efficient and when used in tandem with a condensing boiler can save you money on your heating bills.

To find out more about how we’re here to solve your emergency breakdowns with our boiler and central heating cover and other types of home emergency cover including plumbing and drainage and home appliances cover contact our friendly team on 0330 09 48 301 or request a call back online and get a free quote in minutes!

It’s never good when your fridge stops working, and it’s not just the cost of repairing or replacing the fridge, but the cost of the food you have inside it too, especially with a measure of lockdown still being in place.

Having appliance insurance in place before problems start to develop is a good way of ensuring that your appliance downtime is reduced and that you’re not left with an unexpected expense but here are the most common signs to look out for that it might be time to replace your fridge.

Food going off too quickly

Food going mouldy quickly is a sure sign your fridge is struggling to regulate its temperature, particularly in the warmer months. There are a number of reasons why this right be happening:

• The thermostat has broken
• The condenser coils are dusty
• The motor is working overtime

Before you waste any more food, it may be worth calling out an engineer or replacing your appliance.

An expensive energy bill

A sudden rise in your monthly energy bills could be caused by faulty kitchen appliances; especially when you know your day to day usage hasn’t changed.

Fridge-freezers are the worst offenders for this as they’re on 24/7 unlike your washing machine or dishwasher.

Too cold

While a little bit of water or ice in your fridge is perfectly normal, too much ice is a indication that there’s a problem. This is often due to the door seal needing to be replaced but if that doesn’t solve the problem, it’s a sure sign something’s wrong.

Strange noises

You’re probably used to your fridge humming but if it suddenly stops, accompanied with the loss of the internal light, it probably means you’ve lost power. Locating the blown fuse and flicking it back on will usually solve this problem but you may need to call your electricity provider if not.

If the hum disappears but the light stays on, this might be the sign of a bigger problem. You can try fixing it by turning the thermostat to its coldest setting (this may help to jump start it again), defrosting the fridge or turning it off and on again.

If your fridge makes any noises other than humming, this is a sure sign that something is loose or a part is on its way out.

To find out more about how our home appliances cover can help you solve your problems along with our other types of home emergency cover, including boiler and central heating, and plumbing and drainage insurance, contact our friendly team on 0330 09 48 301. You can also request a call back to discuss your requirements or get a free quote online in minutes!

While social distancing guidelines are still in place, we are making every effort to keep both you and our engineers as safe as possible and to prevent the spread of coronavirus. This includes the use of PPE (personal protection equipment), frequent handwashing and you won’t be asked to sign anything. You can find out more about what to expect from an engineer visit on our Covid-19 FAQ page.

We know that during the Covid-19 crisis, it’s a confusing time for everyone and it’s hard to know what you can and can’t do.

Heating and plumbing repairs have been assigned ‘essential services‘ by the government and therefore are set to continue for the time being during the coronavirus lockdown.

As you can imagine, with engineers going into peoples’ homes, there is the potential for spreading infection and so our teams are working within government guidelines to ensure both you and our engineers always remain safe.

For this reason, we’ve made the decision that we’ll only attend emergency situations while social distancing measures are in place and have suspended all non-essential work and services.

What counts as a heating and/or plumbing emergency?

We’ll send an engineer out in the following circumstances as long as all health and safety guidelines are observed:

• Full boiler breakdown: resulting in a complete loss of heating and/or hot water
• Plumbing damage/failure: where internal flooding/water damage is likely
• Blocked drains: where external blockages (that are within the boundary of your home) are causing visible flooding
• Loss of toilet facilities: where you do not have access to at least one working toilet

What is classed as non-essential?

If you have ‘Premium’ home emergency cover, you will be insured for non-essential situations as well as emergencies. Unfortunately, at present we will not be able to attend the following:

• Servicing:  while having your boiler serviced annually  is important, it’s not deemed essential at this time
• Intermittent faults: where you have an intermittent fault, but it doesn’t result in a complete loss of heating or hot water
• Partial loss of heat: where individual radiators aren’t working but you have heat in other rooms
• Dripping taps: this, while we appreciate it’s annoying, is not deemed an emergency
• Toilet issues where there is an alternative: if you have one toilet which is not working but access to others which are working, this would not be deemed an emergency

How-to guides

We’ve put together a collection of how-to guides to help you fix a variety of common household problems while you’re in lockdown.

However, if you’re not confident or you don’t have the right tools, please be patient and bear with us. Once social distancing rules are relaxed, we’ll aim to get our services back to normal as soon as possible.

If you believe your heating and/or plumbing issue is an emergency, please visit our dedicated FAQ page for contact information and guidelines.

We thank you for your patience in these difficult times and wish you and your family the best of health.

While social distancing guidelines are still in place, we are making every effort to keep both you and our engineers as safe as possible and to prevent the spread of coronavirus. This includes the use of PPE (personal protection equipment), frequent handwashing and you won’t be asked to sign anything. You can find out more about what to expect from an engineer visit on our Covid-19 FAQ page.

As it’s Family Safety Week, we thought we’d share some top tips for staying safe at home.

We asked our qualified boiler, electrical and appliance engineers for their helpful hints on looking after yourself and your family at home; especially given that we’re all spending more time at home.

Around 2.7 million people are admitted to hospital due to accidents that have happened within the home at a cost of £45.63 billion.

James, our electrical engineer from Croydon, shared his tips for preventing electrical accidents within the home: 

• Get your wiring checked at least once every five years by an approved contractor, or immediately when buying an older property
• Don’t use appliances with worn or damaged flexes and don’t wire flexes together
• Don’t take electrical appliances into your bathroom
• Electrical blankets should be regularly checked
• Never overload an electrical socket
• If an appliance appears fault, stop using it and have it checked immediately
• Change light bulbs safely by using a step-ladder rather than unstable furniture

Paul, our Gas Safety registered boiler and central heating engineer from Leeds, shared his advice:

• Have your boiler serviced annually by a qualified engineer to ensure it’s in tip top condition. Find out more about what is involved with our boiler services.
• Your gas flame will usually burn blue but if it burns yellow or orange, there may be a build-up of carbon monoxide. Have your boiler checked immediately by a Gas Safety registered engineer
• Be aware of the symptoms of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning such as drowsiness and flu-like symptoms
• Check the pilot light regularly on your boiler to make sure it has not gone out
• When you’re buying a gas appliance, look for the British Standards or British Seal of Approval safety mark
• If you suspect a gas leak, open the windows, turn off the supply and call the Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. Read more about what to do in the event of a gas leak
• Reduce the risk of burns (especially to children) by using the back ring of your cooker first so that they can’t be reached and pulled down

Sam from Wales is an expert engineer in appliance maintenance and repair and shares her top tips for keeping all your appliances in perfect working order:

• Install fridges and freezers in a dry, ventilated room. These should not be installed in direct sunlight or near radiators
• If an appliance seems faulty, stop using it and have it checked at once and if you have appliance cover report it to your insurance provider immediately
• Regularly defrost your fridge/freezer if it’s not a frost-free appliance
• Don’t attempt to heat non-food products in the microwave unless the instructions say you can
• Keep the vents on a standalone microwave clear
• Clean your washing machine and tumble dryer and check the filters/vents periodically
• Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for us
• Check your dishwasher’s filter regularly and clean if necessary
• Check your cooker is turned off after use (particularly the hob)
• Keep dish clothes and tea towels away from burners and hot plates

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents is running Family Safety Week from March 30 to April 3. Their aim is to exchange skills and knowledge to reduce serious accidental injuries in the home. Find out more here.

Home emergency insurance means you have cover if something goes wrong in your home, like a broken boiler, burst pipes or plumbing problems.

Home insurance will typically cover you for the damage an emergency causes but not all home insurance policies will provide cover for the emergency itself so it’s worth checking to ensure you’re protecting should the worst occur.

As with all types of insurance, there are different levels of cover available so it’s worth thinking about the types of things you want to be covered for and focus on these when making your decision.

How To Compare Home Emergency Cover Effectively

Home emergency insurance means you have cover if something goes wrong in your home, like a broken boiler, burst pipes or plumbing problems.

Home insurance will typically cover you for the damage an emergency causes but not all home insurance policies will provide cover for the emergency itself so it’s worth checking to ensure you’re protected should the worst occur.

As with all types of insurance, there are different levels of cover available so it’s worth thinking about the types of things you want to be covered for and focus on these when making your decision.

What’s classed as an emergency?

Most insurance companies will define an emergency as something that could:

• 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

Make sure you check the individual insurance company’s documents to ensure you’re happy with their definition of what an emergency would be.

What’s covered?

Home emergency cover varies depending on how much you pay and the level of cover which is provided. Depending on the individual policy, home emergency cover can protect against the following:

• Loss of heat/hot water
• Burst pipes
• Blocked drains
• Failure to the electrics
• Broken doors/windows
• Lost keys
• Pest infestation

Some policies will also offer a financial contribution towards a new boiler if yours breaks down and can’t be repaired.

When researching your options, you’ll need to make sure that you have access to a 24/7 helpline/claim line as part of your policy so that should the worst happen, you have access to a network of fully qualified engineers who can put it right for you.

What’s not covered?

Even if something is covered, you may find there are limits to the amount you can claim.

There could be limits to:

• The total cost per call out
• The total cost of claims per year
• The number of call-outs you can make a year

Common exclusions on home emergency cover are:

• Claims occurring within the first 14 days of the policy being taken out
• Emergencies occurring due to pre-existing faults, poor maintenance or wear and tear
• Non-residential properties (i.e. commercial and/or rented properties)
• Park homes and mobile homes
• Boilers over 15 years old

Home Emergency Policy Vs Home Insurance Add -On

Some insurance companies will offer a home emergency ‘add-on’ to their standard home insurance. These are typically a little cheaper but aren’t as comprehensive as a standalone home emergency policy. We have gone into more detail in our blog post Home Emergency Cover Vs Home Insurance Add On.

Service contract vs insurance policy

Make sure you check whether you’re buying a service contract or an insurance policy. A service contract is an agreement between you and the provider or manufacturer that it will cover the cost of any repair work should it go wrong.

Unlike an insurance policy, service contracts are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and so you’ll have limited protection should the company fail to fulfil its agreement. For that reason, a home emergency insurance policy is generally a safer option; it’s always worth checking that the insurer you’re planning to buy from is regulated.

Optional Extras

As with other insurance policies, you’ll be able to choose an optional excess; this is an amount of money payable in the event you need to claim on your home emergency cover. The higher the excess, the cheaper the policy will be.

You can also generally choose to include an annual boiler service if you take out a home emergency policy for an additional fee. These will be completed in line with Gas Safety Regulations and are typically completed between April and September to ensure engineers are available to respond to emergencies in the colder months.

To find out more about our boiler with central heating cover and how our other types of cover are here to solve your home emergencies, including plumbing and drains and home appliances cover, contact our friendly team on 0330 09 48 301. You can also request a call back to discuss your requirements or get a free quote online in minutes!

At Home Emergency Assist, we take pride in offering the very best home emergency cover to ensure that your mind is always at rest.

According to an article published in the Sun, sharing the results of a survey commissioned by BOXT, 45% of respondents have found themselves waiting an average of seven days to get their boiler fixed at a cost of almost £940*. That’s where we come in!

Here are our top 4 reasons why our home emergency cover is hugely beneficial:

Save money

Our affordable and trustworthy home emergency insurance policies mean there’s no need to worry about having to dip into your savings to fix your boiler, central heating, plumbing, drainage or more in event of a complete breakdown, so you can relax and remain worry-free.

Peace of mind

With our Complete home emergency cover, you’ll get peace of mind all year round. If your boiler breaks down, your heating fails or a pipe bursts, Complete Cover ensures that we are there for you every step of the way. We can provide alternative accommodation in case your home becomes uninhabitable and are here for you 24/7 with support 365 days a year through our dedicated claims line.

Network of UK approved engineers available

With our home emergency cover you’ll have access to a nationwide network of UK approved, fully qualified engineers. They are readily available; being dispatched within 4 hours of your call on average, highly organised and trustworthy, ensuring they can repair your boiler or drainage system to the highest standard. As a result, you can rest assured that you are in safe hands when purchasing your cover through us.

Easy, quick and simple to set up

Our home emergency cover is quick and easy to set up. Our friendly and knowledgeable team can answer any questions you may have in as much detail as you like. You can also get a quote on our website within minutes. It really is that simple!

To learn more about how home emergency cover could be here to solve your home emergency problems and our various types of cover, including boiler and heating and utilities cover and plumbing and drainage cover contact our friendly team on 0330 09 48 301 or request a call back online and get a free quote in minutes!

There are few things worse than one of your much-needed kitchen appliances breaking down and the inconvenience and expense of replacing one of them can prove to be a nightmare.

Fill the gap between a warranty and home insurance

Home insurance will typically cover your home appliances in the event of damage or theft but are unlikely to cover them in the event of a breakdown.

This is where the warranty comes in; most new appliances come with a manufacturer’s warranty guaranteeing you repairs and servicing for the first year. However, most problems occur outside of this warranty period.

In this instance, should your appliance breakdown, you’ll need to either replace it yourself or pay the manufacturer to repair your product – both can be costly and leave you out of pocket.

Appliance insurance aims to fill the gap between the two, by covering you for any mechanical or electrical breakdowns (along with accidental damage) that occur outside of the warranty period.

Reduce downtime

Home appliance insurance can ensure that you are not without vital appliances, such as your fridge/freezer, washing machine or oven for long periods of time while you’re waiting for them to be fixed, or until you save enough money to replace it yourself.

Typically, a trained engineer will be sent out as quickly as possible at a mutually convenient time to repair your appliance and, if they’re not able to fix it, replace it

Avoid unexpected costs

By taking out home appliance insurance, you know for a small monthly premium, your appliance (or appliances) will be repaired or replaced as part of the cover so you won’t need to find a large sum of money for a new appliance if yours suddenly stops working.

Add more than one appliance

With most policies, you can cover more than one appliance. With Home Emergency Assist, you can add up to 10 appliances ranging from washing machines to wine coolers to ensure that all your essential kitchen appliances are covered. You also get a discount for insuring 2 or more appliances with us.

The appliances we can cover are:

• Freestanding cooker (we are unable to cover Aga/Rayburn)
• Cooker, Hob, Oven
• Hood or Extractor
• Microwave Oven
• Dishwasher
• Fridge/Freezer
• Refrigerator
• Freezer
• Washing Machine
• Tumble Dryer
• Washer/Dryer
• Wine Cooler

To find out more about our appliance cover and how our other types of cover are here to solve your home emergencies, including plumbing and drains and boiler and central heating cover, contact our friendly team on 0330 09 48 301. You can also request a call back to discuss your requirements or get a free quote online in minutes!