An alternative to central heating insurance?

Posted on 2 Apr 2008

Central heating systems break down - it’s an unfortunate fact of life. Through age or unforeseen circumstances problems occur, which is why it’s often wise to play it safe and obtain central heating breakdown cover.

But central heating insurance from one of the established providers isn’t the only option, and you might want to consider "self insuring": tucking an equivalent amount of cash away each month in a savings account.

Rather than paying, say, £15 each month this money goes in to your account where, within 3-4 months, it will be enough to pay for a minor emergency call out. Within a year your "insurance account" will contain around £200, enough for substantial boiler repairs and servicing.

The down side is that a disaster within the first few months could leave you paying large unexpected bills. As such we don't advise this approach for:

• Very old central heating systems
• Systems with a history of problems
• Systems where you are unsure of the history

The upsides are significant, so if none of the above applies to you why not consider self insuring rather than central heating insurance from a provider? At £200 saved you will have more than enough in your insurance account after a couple of years to deal with any emergencies, and by the time your system is on it’s last legs you should have enough to pay for a new one with plenty left over.