FAQ

Gas Leaks

What shall I do if I suspect a gas leak?

Call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999. 

If the leak is external to your home the National Gas Emergency Service will repair and fix this completely free of charge. 

If the leak is internal to your home, the National Gas Emergency Service is only permitted to spend a maximum of 30 minutes in their attempt to locate and repair the problem. 

If unsuccessful, they often have no choice but to shut off all or part of the gas supply, even that of vulnerable customer. It is your responsibility to repair the leak.

You may be covered if you have Internal Gas Pipe Supply Cover, otherwise you can get a Homeserve approved CORGI registered gas engineer.

Homeserve Policies

What is the eligibility criteria for Homeserve's Policies?

Homeowners: All homeowners are eligible to apply unless the property is a mobile home, bed-sit, flat, in multiple-occupancy or is used for commercial purposes.

Housing Association co-owners: If you have part bought your home in conjunction with a housing association, you are eligible to apply for policies, although we advise you to double check your responsibilities for the property.

Mobile home or caravan owners: Our cover doesn't extend to mobile homes.

Council tenants: You will not need any home emergency cover because the council is responsible for repairs.

Private tenants: Before you apply, check what repairs you are responsible for.

Shower Breakdown Cover and Gas Boiler Breakdown Cover have separate eligibility criteria.

How many claims can I make?

The number of claims you can make will depend on the policy you have, please read the home emergency cover details or the Terms & Conditions you will have been sent.

How long will I be covered?

Your cover period is for 12 months.  Please note that there are 14-28 day waiting periods before you can make a claim. If it is a renewal, there are no waiting periods.  Please refer to terms and conditions for specific details relating to your cover.

What is included in my policy?

What is covered depends on the policy you have, please read the policy details or the information you have been sent

What if I am not satisfied?

If you haven't made a claim and you wish to see if you are still within your cooling off period to get a refund, please call us having read your specific terms and conditions.

Find out how to complain.

We always send you full details of complaints procedures in your terms and conditions when you join.

Homeserve is a member of the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, so you can be confident we will deal seriously with all complaints.

Am I covered by my home insurance?

Most leading home insurance policies as standard don't cover general wear and tear, you may also have to pay for call-out, labour, materials and VAT yourself.

Internal Gas Supply Pipe Cover

For all cover summaries on this page, please refer to Gas Supply Pipe Insurance.

What is covered?

  • Up to £2,000 per claim
  • The cover always includes call out charge, parts and labour & VAT
  • Up to £500 towards a hotel if you're without gas overnight
  • Up to £200 in costs if the engineer needs to remove flooring or plasterwork to reach the broken pipes
  • A guarantee on all permanent repairs for the lifetime of your cover

What is not covered?

  • Items that aren't part of your gas supply pipe
  • Repairs to items connected to your internal gas supply pipe
  • Parts of the gas supply pipe which can't be accessed safely, e.g. when asbestos is present
  • Any claim not reported to our 24hr breakdown hotline
  • No claims in the first 14 days, just for the first year

What do I need to do in a gas emergency?

  • Call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999.
  • Once the National Gas Emergency Service have attended and isolated the leak, you should contact Homeserve on 0800 783 0951, 24 hours a day.

What if the National Gas Emergency Service (NGES) can't fix the gas leak?

  • NGES only permitted to spend a maximum of 30 minutes in their attempt to locate and repair the problem.  They are also limited as to what they can do by the cost of the repair.
  • If unsuccessful they often have no choice but shut off a part or all of the gas supply, even to vulnerable customers. Then it is your responsibility to organise and pay to repair the leak.

Who is eligible to apply?

  • All homeowners are eligible to apply, unless the property is in multiple- occupancy, a mobile home, bedsit, flat or used for commercial purposes.
  • Council tenants will not need this service and private tenants are advised to check with their landlords before applying.

How can I apply?

Shower Breakdown Cover

What is covered?

  • Up to £500 per claim, up to three claims a year - £1,500 of total cover
  • The cover always includes call out charge, parts and labour & VAT
  • Up to £100 towards a brand new shower if it's beyond economical repair
  • Protects all shower units in your home and includes wiring between the shower and the isolation switch, or pull cord
  • A guarantee on all permanent repairs for the lifetime of your cover

What is not covered?

  • No claims in the first 14 days, just for the first year
  • Any item that isn't part of your shower unit or domestic wiring
  • Any claim not reported to our 24hr breakdown hotline
  • Any loss or damage caused by rust, corrosion, flood, limescale, frost or fire
  • Restoration of floors and tiles following a repair or replacement
  • For full details of cover, please refer to terms and conditions.

Who is eligible to apply?

  • All homeowners are eligible to apply, unless the property is in multiple- occupancy, a mobile home, bedsit, flat or used for commercial purposes.
  • Council tenants will not need this service and private tenants are advised to check with their landlords before applying.

How can I apply?

Pest Contamination Cover

Does the policy cover flat owners?

  • Unfortunately we are unable to cover flat owners.

How can I apply?

Plumbing and Drainage Cover

What is covered with Plumbing and Drainage Cover?

  • Internal plumbing and drainage claims: Up to £1,000 per claim, two claims a year
  • External drainage claims: Up to £2,000 per claim, two claims a year
  • The cover always includes call out charge, parts and labour & VAT
  • Up to £200 towards a hotel if you can't live at home for more than 48 hours
  • A guarantee on all permanent repairs for the lifetime of your cover

What is not covered?

  • Non-emergency problems, for example; re-washering of your taps or incidents that involve water flow from external overflow pipes
  • Frozen pipes - this is a temporary problem, that you can fix yourself
  • Plumbing and drainage problems that you were aware of before the cover started
  • Situations involving the underground water supply pipe outside your home
  • Any problems with shared sewers outside of your property boundary

Who is eligible to apply for Homeserve Plumbing and Drainage Cover?

  • All homeowners are eligible to apply, unless the property is in multiple-occupancy, a mobile home, bedsit, flat or used for commercial purposes.
  • Council tenants will not need this service and private tenants are advised to check with their landlords before applying.

Do Homeserve cover flats?

Are maisonettes covered?

  • As long as the maisonette is classed as a small house and not a flat we can offer this cover.
  • Maisonettes that have neighbours above or below them are actually defined as flats.

Do Homeserve cover customers that have part bought their home in conjunction with the housing association?

  • If you have part bought your home in conjunction with a housing association, you are eligible to apply, although we advise you to double check your responsibilities for the property.

My taps are leaking; can they be replaced under my policy?

  • Basic tap replacements are made if that is the only way to solve an emergency
  • Tap washers cannot be replaced even where they may be required to stop the emergency
  • If you would like your tap washers covered, you need Plumbing Maintenance Cover.

How does Homeserve ensure that the most reputable plumbers are employed?

We thoroughly vet all tradesman before we approve them:

  • We visit their premises
  • We get a copy of their up to date Public Liability Certificate, we insist on a minimum cover of two million, in case of accident
  • We validate their trade certificates; Plumbers must have City & Guilds, NVQs, IPHE, SNIPEF, WIAPS or APHC. Drainage plumbers must have City & Guilds or NVQs.
  • They agree to our Service Level Agreement, Key Performance Indicators, expected work standards and our standard processes and procedures
  • They sign the Homeserve Health and Safety statement
  • A Homeserve Director gives them final approval
  • We then use customer feedback to monitor the quality of our tradesmen.

How can I apply?

Water Supply Cover

Are flat owners covered?

  • We are unable to offer this cover to flat owners.

Are maisonettes covered?

  • As long as the maisonette is classed as a small house and not a flat we can offer this cover.
  • Maisonettes that have neighbours above or below them are actually defined as flats.

What length of pipe is covered?

  • There are no restrictions on the length of pipe we will repair.
  • Where we find the pipe to be in poor condition we will replace a section of up to 20 metres.
  • For full details of cover, please refer to terms and conditions.

Central Heating Breakdown Cover and Gas Boiler Breakdown Cover

What is the definition of a central heating breakdown?

  • Breakdown or failure is the sudden, unforeseen electrical or mechanical malfunction of the domestic central heating system.
  • It applies when the system isn't working at all or when two or more radiators are not working.

What should I do if I hear banging from my boiler or it's making a noise?

  • Don't try to fix it yourself
  • Turn the boiler off
  • Make a claim against your policy or book a CORGI Engineer if you're not a policy holder.

Is there a requested age limit to the boiler that is covered?

  • There is no age restriction on the boiler, but the make and model of the boiler must meet our eligibility criteria.

How can I apply?

Optional Gas Service for Boiler Breakdown Policy Holders:

What does the optional Gas Service consist of?

Customers have the opportunity to upgrade their Boiler Breakdown Policy to include an annual service to the boiler. This ensures that the boiler is operating effectively and safely.

If the engineer finds that the boiler is not meeting our safety requirements, you will need to fix this within 28 days of the engineers visit.

Once the work is complete, you will benefit from the Homeserve Boiler Breakdown Cover and can be confident that you'll be covered in the event of breakdown.

The service is carried out according to manufacturer's specifications. A usual service includes:

  • Ensuring that the gas and electricity supplies are isolated
  • Cleaning the burner or injectors
  • Cleaning the pilot or injector
  • Cleaning the flue-ways, including the draught diverter and the heat exchanger
  • Cleaning and adjusting the ignition components
  • Cleaning flame supervision components
  • Cleaning, lubricating and adjusting controls
  • Repairing any gas leaks
  • Checking all disturbed gas connections
  • Checking all boiler seals and joints
  • Checking that there are no obvious signs of damage to the wiring
  • Re-setting the burner operating pressure to the level on the date label or plate
  • Testing open boilers for spillage
  • Re-checking the flame supervision device

Electrical Emergency and Breakdown Cover

What does NICEIC stand for?

  • It stands for the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting.

Is an outdoor swimming pool or fishpond covered?

  • We cannot cover electrics which are connected to a pump, swimming pool, water feature or fish tank, whether inside or outside the property.

Does the electrical wiring have to be under a certain age to be covered?

  • There are no age restrictions on the electrical wiring, but we cannot continue to cover any wiring that our contractors deem is unsafe.
  • Cover will continue when the wiring has been brought up to standard.

Are immersion heaters covered?

  • We will cover the wiring that leads up to an immersion heater but we can't cover the heater itself.

If electrical work I need isn't covered under the policy, can I get an electrician through Homeserve?

  • Yes, you can get a free quote for an electrician online now, with no obligation.

We include questions that customers have actually asked us in our FAQ section.

Want to contribute a question? Email us

Need to get hold of someone? Contact us