Do home insurance policies now cover air source heat pumps and solar panels?

TR5

I had two air source heat pumps installed last year and am now looking at comparison quotes in order to renew my home insurance policy. I cannot find any information in any of the quotes as to whether they cover air source heat pump systems in their policies. I intend to install solar panels in the near future and these are also not mentioned. 

I just called one of the companies and I had no confidence the customer service guy knew what I was talking about - he didn't know what an air source heat pump was and asked if it was portable... but he said they would be covered if they were attached to the building. 

Has anyone had any experience with renewing their home insurance policies and confirming their new heat pumps and solar panels would be covered? 

 

user1977

If it's part of the building then it's covered, unless the policy says it isn't.

XRS200

TR5 said:

I had two air source heat pumps installed last year and am now looking at comparison quotes in order to renew my home insurance policy. I cannot find any information in any of the quotes as to whether they cover air source heat pump systems in their policies. I intend to install solar panels in the near future and these are also not mentioned. 

I just called one of the companies and I had no confidence the customer service guy knew what I was talking about - he didn't know what an air source heat pump was and asked if it was portable... but he said they would be covered if they were attached to the building. 

Has anyone had any experience with renewing their home insurance policies and confirming their new heat pumps and solar panels would be covered? 

 

Don't see why they wouldn't be covered.

Oil or gas boilers are covered without necessarily being mentioned.

TR5

Thanks user1977 - much appreciated.

I've called another insurance company and the customer service guy there didn't know what a heat pump was either but at least he was able to direct me to one of the many pages of the policy and confirm 'Buildings' refers to the main structure of your home and any of a list of items, where they form part of your property. Air- and ground-source heat pumps and fixed solar heating systems are included in this list.  

I was concerned the insurance companies don't ask you what heating system you have when you take out a new policy so wanted to confirm it would definitely be covered.  

TR5

XRS200 said:

TR5 said:

I had two air source heat pumps installed last year and am now looking at comparison quotes in order to renew my home insurance policy. I cannot find any information in any of the quotes as to whether they cover air source heat pump systems in their policies. I intend to install solar panels in the near future and these are also not mentioned. 

I just called one of the companies and I had no confidence the customer service guy knew what I was talking about - he didn't know what an air source heat pump was and asked if it was portable... but he said they would be covered if they were attached to the building. 

Has anyone had any experience with renewing their home insurance policies and confirming their new heat pumps and solar panels would be covered? 

 

Don't see why they wouldn't be covered.

Oil or gas boilers are covered without necessarily being mentioned.

Thank XRS200. Some policies mention boiler breakdowns and gas pipes so, as I now don't have a boiler and soon won't have any gas pipes, I was concerned they wouldn't cover heat pump breakdowns or heat pump pipework but, as you say, the type of heating system isn't always mentioned so they should be covered as part of the building. 

JGB1955

I'm not sure that 'breakdowns' would be covered....

Aretnap

TR5 said:

XRS200 said:

TR5 said:

I had two air source heat pumps installed last year and am now looking at comparison quotes in order to renew my home insurance policy. I cannot find any information in any of the quotes as to whether they cover air source heat pump systems in their policies. I intend to install solar panels in the near future and these are also not mentioned. 

I just called one of the companies and I had no confidence the customer service guy knew what I was talking about - he didn't know what an air source heat pump was and asked if it was portable... but he said they would be covered if they were attached to the building. 

Has anyone had any experience with renewing their home insurance policies and confirming their new heat pumps and solar panels would be covered? 

 

Don't see why they wouldn't be covered.

Oil or gas boilers are covered without necessarily being mentioned.

Thank XRS200. Some policies mention boiler breakdowns and gas pipes so, as I now don't have a boiler and soon won't have any gas pipes, I was concerned they wouldn't cover heat pump breakdowns or heat pump pipework but, as you say, the type of heating system isn't always mentioned so they should be covered as part of the building. 

That sounds like home emergency cover. It's important to understand the limitations of that type of cover. 

Home insurance doesn't typically cover heating systems against mechanical breakdown, wear and tear, defects, maintenance issues etc - whether it's a boiler or a heat pump. It will cover either against damage from external causes like fires, floods, storms etc. But having to replace your old boiler every few years is just part of the joy of being a homeowner and not something you can insure against, other than through an extended warranty or service contact arrangement. A heat pump is no different.

Home emergency cover does add some cover against breakdowns, but generally it will only pay for a quick fix to make the house habitable in the short term. If your boiler is old and knackered it won't pay the cost of a new one.

Emergency cover is also more likely to be tightly worded in terms of the events that it does cover so read it carefully. If it says that it covers heating system breakdown that would include a heat pump: if it specifically says gas boiler then it wouldn't.

TR5

JGB1955 said:

I'm not sure that 'breakdowns' would be covered....

Agree, probably not...  got a bit too hopeful there...

35har1old

TR5 said:

I had two air source heat pumps installed last year and am now looking at comparison quotes in order to renew my home insurance policy. I cannot find any information in any of the quotes as to whether they cover air source heat pump systems in their policies. I intend to install solar panels in the near future and these are also not mentioned. 

I just called one of the companies and I had no confidence the customer service guy knew what I was talking about - he didn't know what an air source heat pump was and asked if it was portable... but he said they would be covered if they were attached to the building. 

Has anyone had any experience with renewing their home insurance policies and confirming their new heat pumps and solar panels would be covered? 

 

Did you not inform you current provider as its usally a requirement if there is building work going on
You need to get it in writing that they are covered

DullGreyGuy

TR5 said:

Thanks user1977 - much appreciated.

I've called another insurance company and the customer service guy there didn't know what a heat pump was either but at least he was able to direct me to one of the many pages of the policy and confirm 'Buildings' refers to the main structure of your home and any of a list of items, where they form part of your property. Air- and ground-source heat pumps and fixed solar heating systems are included in this list.  

I was concerned the insurance companies don't ask you what heating system you have when you take out a new policy so wanted to confirm it would definitely be covered.  

Thankfully legislation is very clear, for consumer insurance an insurer can only rely on the questions they ask and those questions cannot be vague like "is there anything else relevant you have to declare?" so unless they ask they wouldnt be able to deny a claim because you didnt declare these things. 

As with any policy you need to read the policy book and the definitions of Buildings and Contents (though certain fixtures and fittings can potentially be covered by either). These tend to be very broadly described such that there isnt much that won't be covered however they do tend to have explicit exclusions, most commonly motor vehicles. I doubt there are any policies where these things wouldnt be within the broad description, even if not explicitly mentioned, so really you are looking to see if it's excluded. 

Once you have seen what is covered you then need to look at which perils are covered (storm, fire, theft etc). What you won't have is mechanical or electrical breakdown (if you have Home Emergency you may have some level of cover). For a successful claim you need to show the loss has been caused by one of these perils.