Emergency Household Insurance - how fast should they come?

roadweary

Our boiler refused to light this evening (used for water and heating) - by the time we found our Zurich Home Insurance docs to show we have emergency household insurance through DAS, it was 7pm.

We called up and they said someone would be here between 8am and 3pm tomorrow, if they need spare parts could be a further 3 working days till the repair is completed.

We let them know we have a special needs adult and they said someone should get here in the morning.

I've re-read the document and it says 

They said they had no more appointments today and that strikes me as poor.  If you pay a plumber enough, they'll attend.

Anyhow, I wondered on people's views / knowledge on service levels and what to expect.

I'd never considered that emergency insurance wouldn't be emergency insurance.  And they agreed on the phone (and reflected in their docs) that loss of the Main Heating system in the house counts as an emergency....

Thanks,
R

turnitround

roadweary said:

Our boiler refused to light this evening (used for water and heating) - by the time we found our Zurich Home Insurance docs to show we have emergency household insurance through DAS, it was 7pm.

We called up and they said someone would be here between 8am and 3pm tomorrow, if they need spare parts could be a further 3 working days till the repair is completed.

We let them know we have a special needs adult and they said someone should get here in the morning.

I've re-read the document and it says 

They said they had no more appointments today and that strikes me as poor.  If you pay a plumber enough, they'll attend.

Anyhow, I wondered on people's views / knowledge on service levels and what to expect.

I'd never considered that emergency insurance wouldn't be emergency insurance.  And they agreed on the phone (and reflected in their docs) that loss of the Main Heating system in the house counts as an emergency....

Thanks,
R

The part you have highlighted in blue about an 'insured emergency listed below'. What emergencies are on that list?

Debbie9009

I would consider getting a plumber the following day when you called them at 7pm to be good, there is nothing in the terms you have posted that states they will be there the same day.

As for if you pay a plumber enough they will attend, not if they already have work they won’t, and it sounds like all their plumbers are already busy.

roadweary

turnitround said:

roadweary said:

Our boiler refused to light this evening (used for water and heating) - by the time we found our Zurich Home Insurance docs to show we have emergency household insurance through DAS, it was 7pm.

We called up and they said someone would be here between 8am and 3pm tomorrow, if they need spare parts could be a further 3 working days till the repair is completed.

We let them know we have a special needs adult and they said someone should get here in the morning.

I've re-read the document and it says 

They said they had no more appointments today and that strikes me as poor.  If you pay a plumber enough, they'll attend.

Anyhow, I wondered on people's views / knowledge on service levels and what to expect.

I'd never considered that emergency insurance wouldn't be emergency insurance.  And they agreed on the phone (and reflected in their docs) that loss of the Main Heating system in the house counts as an emergency....

Thanks,
R

The part you have highlighted in blue about an 'insured emergency listed below'. What emergencies are on that list?

Here it is...

GrumpyDil

To be honest their timescale sounds reasonable. And be aware that if they need to order any parts then that three additional working days could turn out to be hopeful.

MattMattMattUK

The timescale sounds entirely reasonable and it is not an emergency situation. In no part of the UK would the indoor temperature drop to dangerous levels tonight, even up in Lerwick the overnight temperature is still at 7c, therefore loss of heating would not present a major issue.

Having no heating overnight and no or limited hot water (depending on if you have a tank or not) overnight is not an emergency, a mild inconvenience potentially, but far from an emergency. 

TELLIT01

MattMattMattUK said:

Having no heating overnight and no or limited hot water (depending on if you have a tank or not) overnight is not an emergency, a mild inconvenience potentially, but far from an emergency. 

Not having hot water when there is a special needs adult in the household could be much more than a 'mild inconvenience'.

roadweary

TELLIT01 said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Having no heating overnight and no or limited hot water (depending on if you have a tank or not) overnight is not an emergency, a mild inconvenience potentially, but far from an emergency. 

Not having hot water when there is a special needs adult in the household could be much more than a 'mild inconvenience'.

That’s true. Hygiene is a constant battle even with hot water available.  And that’s before meltdowns because something isn’t doing what that individual expects it to do. 

Thankfully the plumber attended and fixed the issue this morning.