Terms & Conditions

Gas Supply Pipe 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 matters in question, which will be subject to English Law, and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

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 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 maisonettes all situated at the address on the terms and conditions but excluding private flats bedsits/properties in multiple occupation and commercial premises.
  5. Internal gas supply pipes: the internal pipes used to supply gas to appliances within the limits of the buildings of your property, from the outlet of the gas meter to the isolation valve of any appliance, including gas supply hoses connecting to the gas cooker.
  6. Temporary reinstatement: any carpets, linoleum or floorboards, removed by our engineer in order to gain access to the affected pipes covered under this policy, will be put back such that the floor is sufficiently safe to walk on. However, we are not responsible for reinstating floor coverings or fixtures and fittings to their original standards.

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 Supply Pipe Cover" and "Cover" in all documents includes 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 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 this 28-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. 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 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 number F008938.

Inter Partner Assistance 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?

Internal Gas Supply Pipe

  1. If you suffer a leak to your internal gas supply pipes, you should immediately call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. Once they have attended and isolated the leak, you should call us on the emergency telephone number. We will then organise and pay up to £2,000 (including VAT) for an approved CORGI engineer to repair or replace the damaged section of internal gas supply pipe, including the temporary reinstatement of flooring surfaces. Homeserve guarantee the CORGI Registered Installers' arrival. If we fail to achieve this Homeserve will refund your policy premium in full. If you feel this applies to a claim you have made under this policy you should write to our Customer Relations Department, Homeserve, Freepost RLYC-LXAL-GEEH, Cable Drive, Walsall, WS2 7BR. This does not apply where there is a bank holiday.
  2. In the event that our engineer is unable to contain the emergency on the first visit, leaving your gas supply isolated overnight, we will pay hotel costs of up to £500 (including VAT) if no alternative accommodation is available. If you prefer to remain in your property whilst the gas supply is isolated a contribution of £30 will be made towards alternative heating.
  3. We will offer to pay up to £200 in costs incurred as a result of our engineer having to remove internal hard-flooring or plasterwork to access any of the affected pipes covered under this policy.
  4. Our liability to pay for such repairs applies to the internal gas supply pipes from the outlet of your gas supply meter to the isolation valve of any gas appliance.
  5. 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. Any gas leaks MUST in the first instance be reported to the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.
  6. 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 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.
  3. The cover limit of £2,000 includes the cost of call-out, labour, materials and VAT.
  4. The total amount we will pay under this policy, arising from any one event is £2,000 including VAT. This excludes any hotel accommodation payments or payments towards reinstatement of internal hard-flooring or plasterwork.

EXCLUSIONS

  1. These events are excluded from the insurance;
    1. any event arising from circumstances known to you before the insurance began;
    2. loss or damage arising as a result of disconnection, interruption or contamination from the mains services.
  2. We are not liable for;
    1. any item not forming part of the internal gas supply pipe;
    2. any fixtures including lead piping where replacement is only necessary as a result of legislation or health and safety guidelines, or to meet current best practice;
    3. internal gas supply pipes, which have not been installed, serviced or maintained in accordance with established practice or manufacturer's instructions;
    4. any defect, damage or breakdown caused by malicious or wilful action, negligence, misuse, or third party interference including any attempted repair or modification to the internal gas supply pipe which does not comply with recognised industry standards;
    5. any loss in the event of damage occurring where the property has remained unoccupied for 60 or more consecutive days;
    6. any liability for consequential loss whether as a result of a defect or malfunction of internal gas supply pipe, 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;
    7. costs incurred where you have been informed of the need to do permanent repairs to avoid emergencies;
    8. any part of the internal gas supply pipe, which is too difficult to access safely, e.g. where asbestos is present;
    9. any costs above the limits of cover. You are responsible for agreeing and settling these costs directly with the heating engineer;
    10. any loss arising from subsidence, heave of the site or landslip caused by:
      1. bedding down of new structures;
      2. demolition or structural repairs or alterations to the property;
      3. faulty workmanship or the use of defective materials;
      4. river or coastal erosion.
    11. any loss or damage arising as a consequence of:
      1. war, invasion, act of foreign enemies, terrorism, hostilities (whether war is declared or not), civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, coup, riot or civil disturbance;
      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 its nuclear component.
    12. 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.
    13. repairs or replacement to any appliance connected to your internal gas supply pipes.

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, 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 internal gas supply pipes at your property, for which you are responsible. Nor does it pay for replacing items that 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.