Terms & Conditions

Electrical Heating Cover

You have entered into a contract of insurance with Inter Partner Assistance SA and a separate contract with Homeserve to arrange and administer the policy. This document represents the entire agreements of the parties on the matter in question, which will be subject to English Law, and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

Please read this document carefully, we do not wish You to discover after an incident has occurred that You are not insured. If You have any queries, please call Homeserve on 0800 783 0951.

DEFINITIONS RELATING TO THE INSURANCE AND ADMINISTRATION TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Certain words within your terms and conditions or your policy summary have a particular meaning, shown below. Each time we use one of these words it will have the same meaning:

  1. You/Your: The permanent occupier of the property as recorded on the application form and any your domestic partner, children and other relatives who permanently reside with you at your property.
  2. Inter Partner Assistance SA/We/Us/Our: Inter Partner Assistance SA, The Quadrangle, 106-118 Station Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1PR.
  3. Homeserve: Homeserve Membership Ltd, Cable Drive, Walsall, WS2 7BN.
  4. Property: Your principal place of residence, (comprising private dwelling, garage and outbuildings, built of brick, stone or concrete and roofed with slate, metal, thatch, concrete, asbestos or asphalt), used for domestic purposes, including private flats and maisonettes all situated at the address on the terms and conditions but excluding bedsits/properties in multiple occupation and commercial premises.
  5. Domestic electrical storage / panel heaters: Storage heaters and wall mounted panel heaters, which are permanently sourced by the mains electricity supply. This includes convection storage heaters, storage heaters incorporating fans and combination storage/panel heaters. Also the electrical supply circuit supplying power only to storage heaters and panel heaters including associated switches, fuse boxes and controls all beyond the electricity company’s supply meter.
  6. Domestic electrical appliances: Any electrical equipment powered by a removable electrical source.
  7. Breakdown and/or failure: Sudden and unforeseen electrical malfunction of the domestic electrical storage/panel heaters.

COST OF COVER

The cost of cover is the total amount you pay as detailed in your policy documentation, which consists of the Arrangement and Administration Fee of £11 and the Premium. The Arrangement and Administration Fee is the amount you pay for arranging and administering the cover, and the Premium is the amount you pay for the insurance contract. These arrangements do not affect the amount that you pay for your cover or the service that you receive. References to ‘Electrical Heating Cover’ and ‘Cover’ in all documents include services within both contracts.

ADMINISTRATION TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This cover is arranged and administered for you by Homeserve Membership Ltd, Cable Drive, Walsall, WS2 7BN, registered in England no. 2770612.

  1. Homeserve will arrange your insurance cover and agree service standards for the delivery of the cover provided by the insurance. If this insurance does not provide the cover you need, you should return your policy summary to Homeserve at the FREEPOST address (see number 6) within 28 days of the policy start date and your premium will be refunded in full, provided no claim has been made. Please note that your statutory cancellation rights, which begin at the end of the waiting period and run for 14 days, are included within the 28-day period.
  2. The minimum period for which you may hold this policy is 12 months. Homeserve will arrange for collection of policy premium in accordance with your instructions. If you fail to pay any premium on the due date for payment, Homeserve will notify you in writing within five working days, your policy will be suspended immediately and you will not be covered during this period. If you do not pay in full within thirty days of the due date, your policy will be cancelled. Any outstanding payments will be requested and upon receipt of cleared funds your cover will restart.
  3. Homeserve reserves the right to cancel this policy by giving you at least 7 days notice at your last known address. If Homeserve cancel the policy, Homeserve will refund your premium for the remainder of the current policy period shown on your policy summary, unless a claim has been made.
  4. Homeserve will contact you in writing before your policy expires to arrange renewal of your policy. Homeserve will consider underwriting risks, which may include details of claim history on previous policies, when inviting you to renew your policy. Homeserve reserves the right to refuse renewal of any individual policy.
  5. You are responsible for informing Homeserve of a change of your address, so that cover can be transferred to your new property. Please send this information to Homeserve at the FREEPOST address (see number 6).
  6. If you have a complaint relating to an administrative matter, please write to Customer Relations Department, Homeserve, Freepost WV1849, Walsall, WS2 7BR. In the unlikely event that you are not satisfied with the response from Homeserve, you can ask us for details of the FOS (Financial Ombudsman Service).

INSURANCE TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The insurance is provided by Inter Partner Assistance SA who are a wholly owned subsidiary of AXA Assistance SA and part of the world wide AXA Group. Their Address is: Inter Partner Assistance SA, The Quadrangle, 106-118 Station Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1PR. United Kingdom office, registered number FC008998.

Inter Partner Assistance SA SA is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) here in the UK and authorised by the CBFA in Belgium (their regulatory arm).

What is covered

Breakdown and/or failure of Domestic Electrical Heating

  1. If you suffer a breakdown and/or failure of your domestic electrical storage / panel heaters at the address on your terms and conditions, you should call us on the emergency telephone number. We will then:
    1. advise you how to protect yourself and the property immediately
    2. offer to organise and pay on your behalf for the call-out, labour, parts and materials involved in repairing or remedying the domestic electrical heating breakdown up to £500 (including VAT).
  2. Our liability to pay for such repairs shall apply to domestic electrical storage / panel heaters, which have failed or broken down for reasons other than a failure of external public services to the property.
  3. In the event that your home is left without any form of heating for more than 24 hours as a result of a breakdown and/or failure, we will pay up to £100 (inc VAT) for overnight accommodation.
  4. No costs for repairs are payable unless we have been notified through the 24 hour emergency telephone number provided and have authorised an approved contractor in advance.
  5. When calling please have your policy number ready to quote, this is shown on your policy summary. The contractor or nominated agent may ask you to produce your policy summary when they arrive at your property.
  6. If we are unable to repair your domestic electrical storage / panel heater or if the cost of repair exceeds the replacement cost, we will contribute a maximum of £200 towards the cost of replacement, subject to the £500 policy limit. Payment will be made direct to the approved contractor or to you on production of your receipt for the completed work.
  7. The total amount we will pay under this policy, arising from any one event is £500 including VAT.

What is not covered

  1. Inter Partner Assistance SA provides the services and benefits described in these terms and conditions during the period of insurance for which you have paid the premium. But there are conditions and exclusions, which limit your cover. Please read them carefully to ensure this policy meets your needs.
  2. To prevent claims on pre-existing problems (and therefore reduce premiums) a 14-day waiting period, when new customers cannot make a claim applies in the first year of your policy. The date from which you are able to make a claim is shown on your policy summary under ‘Period of Insurance’. Providing you renew before the expiry of your policy no waiting period applies after your first year’s cover.

EXCLUSIONS

  1. The following are excluded from the insurance:
    1. any loss or damage arising from circumstances known to you before the insurance began;
    2. any loss or damage arising from the disconnection or interruption of the public gas, electricity or water supplies to the property;
    3. the resetting of circuit breakers, where it is not associated with permanent repair work and where it can be reset by you;
    4. any adjustment required to the timing and temperature controls of heaters or Economy 7 timer switches;
    5. cosmetic damage to the casing of domestic electrical storage/panel heaters or timer switches;
    6. warm air heating systems, Electrotech and Smartheat systems, wet systems and under floor heating.
  2. We shall not be liable for the cost of replacement of or of repairing any loss or damage to:
    1. any item not forming part of the domestic electrical storage/panel heaters;
    2. any fixture including wiring and earthing where its replacement is only necessary as a result of changes in legislation or health and safety guidelines;
    3. equipment which has not been installed, serviced or maintained in accordance with statutory regulations, British Standards or manufacturer’s instructions;
    4. domestic electrical appliances, portable heating or energy efficiency management systems;
    5. fan heaters, heated towel rails, infra red heaters, electric fires, skirting or kickspace floor heaters;
    6. domestic electrical storage/panel heaters which exceed the age limit of 15 years at inception of the policy;
    7. failure or breakdown of timers for domestic electrical storage/panel heaters or immersion heaters where there is a manual override facility.
  3. We shall not be liable for any of the following:
    1. the like for like replacement of switches or fittings necessary in repairing or remedying a breakdown and/or failure of the domestic electrical storage/panel heaters, unless an alternative is supplied by you at the time of our contractors visit;
    2. any defect, damage or breakdown caused through malicious or wilful action, negligence, misuse or third party interference including any attempted repair or modification to the domestic electrical storage/panel heaters which does not comply with recognised industry standards;
    3. any loss in the event of damage occurring where the property has remained unoccupied for 60 or more consecutive days;
    4. any liability for consequential loss, whether as a result of a defect or malfunction of the domestic electrical storage/panel heaters or arising from any goods, services, arrangements or advice provided by us or any agents acting on our behalf, unless through our or their negligence;
    5. any part of the wiring which is too difficult to access safely, which is impossible or impractical to maintain because of its position;
    6. any costs above the limits of cover. You are responsible for agreeing and settling these costs directly with the contractor;
    7. replacement costs of wiring, switches and fuse boxes which need to be replaced as a consequence of natural wear and tear or gradual deterioration;
    8. costs incurred where you have been advised of the need to carry out permanent repair work to avoid repetitive situations leading to breakdown and/or failure;
    9. any defect, loss or damage occasioned by fire, lightning, explosion, storm, tempest, impact or other extraneous causes;
    10. any defect loss or damage arising as a consequence of:
      1. war, invasion, act of foreign enemies,
        terrorism, hostilities (whether war be declared or not)
        civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection,
        military or usurped power, riot or civil commotion;
      2. ionising radiation or contamination by radioactivity
        from any nuclear fuel or from any nuclear waste
        from combustion of nuclear fuel, the radioactive
        toxic explosive or other hazardous properties of
        any explosive nuclear assembly or nuclear
        component thereof.
    11. this insurance does not cover you for any loss, injury, damage or legal liability arising directly or indirectly from, or consisting of the following: the failure or inability of any equipment to correctly recognise or interpret data representing any date, in such a way that it does not work properly at all;
    12. any delays caused by our suppliers or their agents in obtaining spare parts that are not immediately available;

Inter Partner Assistance SA – A promise of service

  1. We wish to provide you with a very high standard of service. Very occasionally we receive complaints, which we investigate at once. Every effort is made to resolve them to your satisfaction.
  2. If you have a complaint please write to the Customer Relations Department, Homeserve, Freepost WV1849, Walsall, WS2 7BR. If your complaint relates to the service you experienced as a result of a claim, and you feel that the matter has not been resolved satisfactorily, you may escalate your complaint to the General Manager of Inter Partner Assistance SA, The Quadrangle, 106-118 Station Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1PR. In the unlikely event that you are not satisfied with the response from Inter Partner Assistance SA, you can ask us for details of FOS (the Financial Ombudsman Service).

General Conditions

  1. If any loss, damage or expense covered under this policy is also covered by any other insurance or maintenance contract, we will not pay more than our fair share (rateable proportion) of any claim.
  2. This policy is for homeowners only. Council tenants will not require this service. Retail, commercial and other premises used for business are not eligible for this cover.
  3. This insurance does not cover normal day-to-day maintenance of the domestic electrical storage/panel heaters at your property, which you should do. This includes replacement of items, which will gradually wear out over a period of time.
  4. You must co-operate with us in obtaining reimbursement of any costs we incur under the terms of this cover, which may have been caused by the action of a third party, against whom you have a right of action.