Posted on 13 December 2021
Posted on 13 December 2021
Christmas may be a time to relax and enjoy time with your family, but it can also be stressful too, juggling dinners, buffets and trying to spend time with your family and friends.
Whatever you’re doing to celebrate, we’ve put together some smart kitchen gadgets that can help you organise your time and spend more of it with the people you love over the festive season.
If you haven’t written a shopping list, or you’ve got to the supermarket and realised you’ve left it at home, it can be impossible to remember what essentials (and non-essentials!) you need.
Smart fridge-freezers allow you to check the contents of your fridge from your phone, wherever you are. They typically work by taking a picture every time the door is closed, sending them to your mobile phone.
If you’re not ready to buy a new fridge-freezer, don’t worry. You can buy cameras especially designed to fit into your existing fridge that allow you to keep to track of the contents of your fridge, recognise food items and add them to your inventory and even remind you when something’s about to expire.
When you’ve been on your feet all day looking after your guests, entertaining the children, and cooking large meals, the last thing you want to do is clean your oven.
This is where a self-cleaning oven comes in; at the end of a long day, simply start a self-clean cycle and allow it to work. The pyrolytic technology will burn away any grease or dirt and leaves a fine ash that you can simply wipe away.
You can now buy microwaves which work in sync with your Amazon Alexa, meaning you don’t have to stop what you’re doing in order to heat or cook food in your microwave. They also come with scan-to-cook technology which ensures your food will be cooked perfectly every time.
You can load the dishwasher, then sit down and relax, picking the perfect wash cycle on your phone from the comfort of your living room. Smart dishwashers allow you to start the wash cycle, monitor the performance and check the status from anywhere.
A smart dishwasher can also alert you when you’re running low on dishwasher tablets, when a cycle finishes or if the sensors detect a malfunction or leak. You’ll also be able to download different cleaning cycles for special items, such as heavily soiled pots and pans or delicate glassware.
Putting cover in place before any of your essential kitchen appliances stop working is vital to making sure you’re insured in the event of an inconvenient breakdown.
By covering up to 10 of your most important white goods on one plan, you’ll have access to a 24/7 claims form, and our UK wide network of engineers who’ll get in touch and book in an appointment at a time convenient for you.
To find out more about our home appliances cover or other types of home care cover plans, such as boiler and central heating insurance, plumbing and drainage insurance and Complete Home Emergency plans, 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.
Posted on 30 August 2021
Over the last year, we’ve been at home more and so our energy use has been on the rise. It’s important, therefore, to try and save energy – and money – where we can.
According to a recent study, the average household in the UK does around 270 wash loads a year and 95% of the energy used by your washing machine is used purely to heat up the water!
We’ve put together some simple tips for you to save money (and the environment) below.
Just by washing your clothes at 30° instead of 40°, you’ll use up to 38% less energy. Not only will you save money on your utility costs but you’ll save energy and therefore help the environment.
Although some materials may need a higher temperature, 30° is the recommended setting for most clothing types (including wool) and if you use the right detergent, can work just as well for other fabrics too.
Filling up your washing machine helps conserve energy, by limiting your need to do two or three washes instead.
However, it’s important you don’t overload your machine as this will impact the efficiency of the wash and potentially damage your washing machine’s drum. If you can’t place your hand into the top of the machine’s drum, you’ll need to remove some clothing.
Typically, you’ll use this to tackle stubborn stains, but it can waste litres of hot water each year.
Nowadays however, washing machines and detergents have become advanced enough that pre-wash settings are generally not needed.
Keeping your washing machine well maintained will help you save money and energy, as well as prolonging the lifespan of your appliance. It will also help to keep your clothes clean and fresh after every wash, as you’ll prevent the build-up of limescale, mould and detergent.
Find out more about keeping your washing machine clean.
To find out more about our home appliances cover or other types of home care cover plans, such as boiler and heating insurance, plumbing and drainage insurance and Complete Home Emergency plan 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.
Posted on 26 July 2021
Having your vital kitchen appliances break down isn’t only inconvenient. Not only do you have to survive without your washing machine, oven or fridge-freezer, but you have to worry about sourcing a repairman or buying a replacement, so it can be costly too!
Having Appliance Cover in place before a fault develops is important so you know you’ll be covered in the event that your kitchen appliance breaks down.
We can cover a wide range of kitchen appliances all on one plan, and if you insure more than one, you’ll get a multi-product discount too:
We can cover your white goods as long as your appliance is under 10 years old. You’ll get cover against mechanical or electrical breakdown along with accidental damage.
If your appliance were to break down, we’ll typically send a trained engineer as quickly as possible at a mutually convenient time to repair your appliance and, if they’re not able to fix it, replace it.
If your appliance is over 5 years old, but under 10 and is unable to be fixed, we’ll make a contribution towards the cost of replacement. This depends on the specific age of your appliance and will be made with vouchers from a retailer chosen by us.
To find out more about our home appliances cover or other types of home care cover plans, such as boiler and heating insurance, plumbing and drainage insurance and Complete Home Emergency plan 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.
| Age of your appliance | Replacement contribution (%) |
|---|---|
| Between 5 and 6 | 40% |
| Between 6 and 7 | 30% |
| Between 7 and 8 | 20% |
| Between 8 and 10 | 10% |
You’ll find that your home insurance will typically cover your appliances in the event of theft or damage but are unlikely to cover them if they were to break down.
Most new appliances will come with a manufacturer’s warranty and guarantee you repairs and servicing for the first year. However most mechanical, or electrical problems occur outside of the warranty period.
In this instance, if your appliance breaks down, you’ll need to replace it yourself or pay the manufacturer to repair the item. Both can be expensive and leave you out of pocket.
This is where Appliance Cover comes in by covering you for any mechanical or electrical break downs (along with accidental damage) that occur outside of the warranty period.
To find out more about our home appliances cover or other types of home care cover plans, such as boiler and heating insurance, plumbing and drainage insurance and Complete Home Emergency plan 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.