Best Central Heating insurance

hilspars

My parents have a relatively new boiler and have an annual service plan with Worcester Bosch but would like cover for the entire central heating system. I had problems many years ago with Homeserve who split every part of the central heating cover into different parts i.e pipes / boiler / radiators etc. We are just looking for a good reliable cover for them as they are in their late 80s and don't want to be without heating when it gets cold. Thanks

user1977

If response time is important they might be best just to phone round at the time and see who can attend, rather than be "stuck" with whoever their service plan is with. It will almost certainly be cheaper anyway.

chrisw

My mum's in her late 80s and has tried a few companies over the years with mixed results but she's ultimately gone back to British Gas with their Homecare 2. 

It's relatively expensive, particularly after the first year, but I have to say, she's used them a couple of times and the service has been really good. 

Phoning round would be an absolute chore for her and it's difficult for me to help as I don't live nearby. So I wouldn't normally recommend BG with their prices, but it does give us both peace of mind.

dunstonh

I used to have a service plan with British Gas at our old property.  However, that was only because the boiler the builder put in was a Potterton that was known to blow its circuit boards every 12-18 months and the cost of BG servicing it and replacing the circuit boards frequently made BG a viable option.

However, a Worcester Bosch boiler is of better quality and less likely to suffer issues.   A local heating engineer would likely be cheaper to service and if you are a regular annual servicing customer, they are likely to come out on emergencies much quicker.  Indeed, ours suffered a rare fault, and I called our servicing chap and he came out that morning, which was quicker than BG on their serviceplan. He needed a part and had it fixed the next day.   The cost was cheaper than the annual service plan I last paid many years earlier.

I would recommend they contact some local independent engineers and ask if they do emergency calls and annual servicing (some don't do emergency calls).  Then pick one that they are happy with.