Does Landlord Insurance cover Boiler?

gazfocus

As the title suggests really...I have been looking into paying for a boiler insurance package for tenants in a house I rent out but I was just wondering if Landlord Insurance covers Boiler Breakdown/Central Heating problems.

I guess Boiler Breakdown is one thing landlords fear the most so it would make sense but you never know.

Cotta

"Simply Business" have an add on that covers boilers.

G_M

Not as a standard part of the policy.

Sometimes as an optional extra.

Even then it may be limited in scope. It is likely to cover 'emergencies' ie complete breakdown. It will probably not cover routine service, or LL's safety report, or even repair beyond 'getting it going' (meaning a permenant repair must still be arranged).

*~Zephyr~*

I don't think so. I'd be interested to see if someone has found a policy that does because I never have!

I wouldn't have thought that boiler breakdown is the thing that landlords fear most though! That's a bit extreme. With regular servicing and maintenance a decent boiler will last you years.

I have a service done every year when the GSC is due and I budget to replace a boiler every 10 years or so. And I replace with a model that is easy to maintain and get replacement parts for, which keeps costs down. And also when I replace I get one with a guarantee of between 6 and 10 years. This generally means that the boiler is not one of the things that I fear breaking down.

The thing that worries me the most is a complete trashing of a property. Weighed against the cost of completely renovating a place, a new boiler isn't particularly expensive.

G_M

*~Zephyr~* wrote: »

The thing that worries me the most is a complete trashing of a property. Weighed against the cost of completely renovating a place, a new boiler isn't particularly expensive.

Indeed. Make sure your insurance covers 'malicious damage by tenants'.

caprikid1

Problem is you still need a Gas Safety Certificate

*~Zephyr~*

caprikid1 wrote: »

Problem is you still need a Gas Safety Certificate

Why is that a problem?

gazfocus

*~Zephyr~* wrote: »

I don't think so. I'd be interested to see if someone has found a policy that does because I never have!

I wouldn't have thought that boiler breakdown is the thing that landlords fear most though! That's a bit extreme. With regular servicing and maintenance a decent boiler will last you years.

I have a service done every year when the GSC is due and I budget to replace a boiler every 10 years or so. And I replace with a model that is easy to maintain and get replacement parts for, which keeps costs down. And also when I replace I get one with a guarantee of between 6 and 10 years. This generally means that the boiler is not one of the things that I fear breaking down.

The thing that worries me the most is a complete trashing of a property. Weighed against the cost of completely renovating a place, a new boiler isn't particularly expensive.

Fair point and on a completely different topic, but if you vet your tenants properly, why fear having someone that trashes your property? This is the reason I would not use a letting agency, as they gave me the impression that the first to hand in a completed application form gets the property. This time round, we advertised locally and had 7 people booked in to view with 2 hours of posting the ad. 2 couples wanted the house so we were able to choose who we rented to.

Anyway, back on topic. Is it worth me paying for boiler cover as an extra?

Basically, the reason I am wanting to cover the boiler is that the house is approx 8 years old and the boiler is the original boiler (and not a particularly good one). Two years ago, the boiler stopped working and had to have the pump replaced which cost £200 but nothing's gone wrong with it since so I'm getting a bit nervous about it. I'm going to start building up a pot of money to cover the cost of replacing it should the need arise but need a short term solution.

Jagraf

I'm a tenant. If our boiler goes wrong we have a fab landlord who has contractors to sort it. However, as a tenant we also have boiler cover with BG. It's probably not even valid as any work has to be agreed with the landlord, but it makes me feel more secure ....

It's not something a tenant has to have though as far as I am aware.

You need to have a boiler check (gas check) annually as a landlord anyway so you would have to deal with a broken down boiler one way or another.

Jagraf

G_M wrote: »

Indeed. Make sure your insurance covers 'malicious damage by tenants'.

Pmmffffff lol :rotfl:

gazfocus

Jagraf wrote: »

I'm a tenant. If our boiler goes wrong we have a fab landlord who has contractors to sort it. However, as a tenant we also have boiler cover with BG. It's probably not even valid as any work has to be agreed with the landlord, but it makes me feel more secure ....

It's not something a tenant has to have though as far as I am aware.

You need to have a boiler check (gas check) annually as a landlord anyway so you would have to deal with a broken down boiler one way or another.

Thanks for your post. I would consider myself a 'fab landlord' and I suspect my tenants would do so as well. The reason I have asked what I've asked is because I want to continue to be a 'fab landlord'.

I'm not asking the tenants to pay for boiler cover, I am more than happy to pay for it (although I've seen that British Gas boiler cover is one of the worst), but obviously no point in paying it if it's covered under landlord insurance, which is why I asked.

I'm well aware of the legal requirements of a landlord but a gas safety check does not, in any way, constitute a boiler service or anything like it. It is simply a check to ensure the Gas system in the house is safe, therefore is completely irrelevant to the subject being discussed here.

Anyway, so.....next question to all those landlords out there, do you have boiler cover on your rental properties and if so, who do you use and why?