Terms & Conditions

Gas Boiler Breakdown Insurance

Who Provides Gas Boiler Breakdown Cover?

Your Boiler Breakdown contract is administered by Homeserve Membership Ltd, Cable Drive, Walsall, WS2 7BN. Registered in England no. 2770612. You have a separate contract of insurance with Inter Partner Assistance SA. The policy document enclosed represents the entire agreement of the partners on the matters in question, which will be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

DEFINITIONS RELATING TO THE INSURANCE AND ADMINISTATION 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:

You/Your – The permanent occupier of the property as recorded on the application form and your domestic partner, children and other relatives who permanently reside with you at your property.

Property - Your principal place of residence, used for domestic purposes, including private flats and maisonettes all situated at the address on your terms and conditions but excluding bedsits/properties in multiple occupation and commercial premises.

Inter Partner Assistance SA, We, Us, our – Inter Partner Assistance SA, The Quadrangle, 106-118 Station Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1PR.

Homeserve – Homeserve Membership Ltd., Cable Drive, Walsall, WS2 7BN.

Domestic Central Heating Boiler: The central heating boiler fired by natural gas (excluding warm air heating) from the appliance isolating cock, including all manufacturers fitted components within the boiler together with the pump, motorised valves, thermostat, time, temperature and pressure controls. The maximum permissible output of your private domestic gas fired boiler is 60 kW/hr.

Breakdown and or Failure - Sudden or unforeseen electrical or mechanical malfunction of the Domestic Central Heating Boiler, which renders the boiler inoperable

CORGI Registered Installer/contractor – an approved CORGI Registered Installer

Beyond Economic Repair - The point at which the CORGI Registered Installer estimates that the cost to repair Your boiler exceeds it value (based on our scale of valuations according to age and boiler type). In the event of the boiler being found Beyond Economical Repair a £200 contribution will be made towards the replacement of the boiler.

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 £5 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 ‘Gas Boiler Breakdown 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 the insurance does not provide the cover you need, you should return your policy summary to Homeserve at the FREEPOST address shown below (see number 6) within 42 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 wait period and run for 14 days, are included within this 42-day period.
  2. The minimum period for which you may hold this policy is 12 months. Homeserve will arrange for collection of policy premiums 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 reserve 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 (providing the boiler in your new home meets the eligibility criteria). Please send this information to the Homeserve at the FREEPOST address shown below (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, we will provide you with information on how to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

INSURANCE TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This insurance is underwritten 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 no. FC008998.

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

What is covered?

Breakdown and/or failure of the Gas Fired Central Heating Boiler

  1. If you suffer a breakdown of your gas fired domestic central heating boiler at the address on your terms and conditions, you should call us on the breakdown hotline number on your policy summary. 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, materials and VAT involved in repairing or remedying the breakdown and/or failure of the gas fired domestic central heating boiler.
    3. In the event that a part needs to be ordered to rectify the breakdown best endeavours to source this part in the quickest available time will be made. In the event that the part takes over 72 hours from the first engineers visit a payment of £30 will be made towards alternative heating.

Optional Annual Service

  1. If you have purchased the optional annual boiler service, we will arrange for a CORGI Registered Installer to carry out this service to statutory requirements, manufacturer's recommendations and relevant codes of practice. We will arrange with you a date for this to be completed during the period of cover. Please note that the boiler services are normally undertaken Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, between April and September. It is recommended that Open Flue boilers should be serviced on a yearly basis.
  2. No costs for repairs are payable unless we have been notified through the 24 hour Breakdown Hotline telephone number provided and have authorised an approved contractor in advance.
  3. 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.

What is not covered

  1. Inter Partner Assistance SA provides the cover described in these terms and conditions for the period of insurance shown on the enclosed policy summary. But there are conditions and exclusions, which limit your cover. Please read them carefully to ensure this insurance meets your needs.
  2. To prevent claims on pre-existing problems (and therefore reduce premiums) a 28-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.
  3. We reserve the right to pre-screen all boilers and we will not cover your domestic central heating boiler if it is not in good working order, if parts are not available or your boiler does not meet our eligibility criteria. We may undertake outbound telephone questionnaires, in a number of cases, to pre-screen against our eligibility criteria.

Exclusions

  1. The following are excluded from the insurance:
    1. replacing the central heating boiler;
    2. any part of the gas central heating system other than the domestic central heating boiler, including the hot water cylinder, radiators, cold water supply tank, its feed and outlet;
    3. any loss of damage or fault arising from the circumstances known to you before the insurance began or from the disconnection or interruption of the public gas, electricity or water supplies to the property;
    4. Separate gas heaters providing hot water;
    5. LPG fuelled boilers and dual-purpose boilers (e.g. Aga, Rayburn)
  2. We are not liable for the cost of replacement of or repairing any loss or damage to:
    1. the domestic central heating boiler if it is beyond economical repair (see definitions section);
    2. any item not forming part of the domestic central heating boiler;
    3. the domestic central heating boiler in the event of spare parts or components not being available after a reasonable search of stockists;
    4. any items where the replacement is only necessary as a result of changes in legislation or health and safety guidelines;
    5. equipment which has not been installed, serviced or maintained in accordance with statutory regulations or British Standards or manufacturer’s instructions;
  3. We shall not be liable for any of the following:
    1. any defect or failing which may be attributed to the original design of the gas fired domestic central heating boiler;
    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 central heating boiler, 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 central heating boiler 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. if during any visit by our approved contractor (breakdown or inspection), it is identified that maintenance work necessary to prevent a future breakdown and/or failure of your domestic central heating boiler is required, such remedial and/or maintenance work will need to be carried out at your cost (see general condition 19);
    6. descaling and any work arising from hard water scale deposits or from damage caused by aggressive water or sludge resulting from corrosion. Signs that work is needed may include a noisy boiler, sludged up pipes or poor circulation;
    7. any part of the domestic central heating boiler which is too difficult to access safely, or is impossible or impractical to maintain because of its position;
    8. any delays caused by our suppliers or their agents in obtaining spare parts that are not immediately available;
    9. we will not pay for any repairs resulting from the failure to carry out remedial or maintenance work which has been recommended;
    10. any costs above the limits of cover. You are responsible for agreeing and settling these costs directly with the engineer;
    11. costs incurred where you have been advised of the need to carry out permanent repair work to avoid repetitive situations leading to emergencies or breakdown and/or failure;
    12. any defect, loss or damage occasioned by fire, lightning, explosion, storm, tempest, impact or other extraneous causes;
    13. 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.
  4. This insurance does not cover you for any loss, injury, damage or legal liability arising directly or indirectly from: 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.

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 to 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, we will provide you with information on how to complain to 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, guarantee or warranty, you must provide us with full details of the other 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 central heating boiler at your property, which you should do. This includes the descaling of central heating pipes, adjustment to the timing and temperature controls of the domestic gas central heating boiler, venting (bleeding) of radiators, the addition of corrosion inhibitors, or payment for the replacement of items within your property, 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.
  5. If any recommended remedial or maintenance works notified during the gas boiler inspection (if requested) are not carried out within 28 days or your domestic central heating boiler does not meet our eligibility criteria (for example if spare parts are no longer available), we will automatically cancel your policy.