When a boiler breaks down it can be a stressful and potentially costly problem. Many homeowners choose to take out boiler cover plans to protect themselves. In return for an affordable monthly (or annual) payment, they know that should anything go wrong the problem will be fixed quickly and with no unexpected costs.
To make sure you’re getting the best cover for the best price you should compare plans from several suppliers. We’ve compared 3 of the leading boiler and central heating cover plans available today to get you started: British Gas HomeCare, SSE and YourRepair. Each company offers a range of cover plans including different levels of protection so we’ve chosen comparable plans from each which protect not only the boiler but also the central heating system.
HomeCare vs SSE vs YourRepair
| HomeCare Two | SSE Heating Cover | YourRepair Central Heating Cover | |
| What’s Covered? | Natural gas or LPG central heating systems including boiler, controls, thermostat & programmer, radiators, pipework, hot water cylinder & feed & expansion tank | Natural gas central heating systems including boiler, controls, thermostat and programmer, radiators, pipework, hot water cylinder & feed & expansion tank | Natural gas central heating systems including boiler, controls, thermostat and programmer, radiators, pipework, hot water cylinder & feed & expansion tank |
| Parts & Labour Included | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited Repairs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| National Coverage | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Contracts Available | 1 year | 1 year | 1, 2 or 3 years |
| 24/7 Emergency Repairs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Excess Payable | Optional (£0 or £60) | Optional (£0 or £50) | Optional (£0 or £60) |
| Annual Servicing & Safety Check Included | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly Price with Excess | £18.00 | £14.40 | £11.00 |
| Monthly Price No Excess | £25.00 | £18.90 | £16.00 |
*The excess is the amount you agree to pay for each repair that is needed. All 3 plans are available with no excess payments so you pay nothing for the repair, but this will increase your monthly payments.
About the Brands
British Gas HomeCare
British Gas has been established for over 50 years and supplies millions of British homes with gas, electricity, boiler installations and other home services. Among these services is their range of HomeCare cover plans ranging from boiler cover to complete home cover including drains, plumbing and electrics.
SSE
Formerly known as Scottish and Southern Electric, SSE was founded in 1998 and is a UK energy supplier. The company also delivers a range of other home services including phone and broadband and boiler and central heating installation. They offer a range of cover plans for boilers and central heating.
YourRepair
YourRepair are a relatively new brand to the market but are growing in popularity with 1000s of homeowners switching to them every day. They provide cover for boilers, central heating and complete home cover at competitive prices. View the latest offer.
Is Your Boiler Covered?
YourRepair specify that they will not repair LPG boilers, thermal store boilers, solid fuel boilers, oil boilers, electric boilers, back boilers, or dual purpose boilers. SSE will also not cover LPG or oil boilers or electrical heating systems. HomeCare, however, will cover LPG boilers.
While all 3 plans cover gas central heating and most brands of domestic boiler, there is a chance that your boiler will not be eligible for cover. For example, YourRepair will cover all makes of domestic boilers which are fuelled by natural gas EXCEPT Potterton Powermax, Chaffoteaux and Elm Le Blanc. HomeCare Two and SSE do not specify which makes or models of boilers are not covered; instead they will come out to your home to complete an initial inspection / service soon after your cover begins. If they find your boiler is not suitable, you will be refunded any money you have paid and the cover will be cancelled.
What is Covered?
These plans protect not just your boiler, but the rest of your central heating system too. This includes the boiler and its controls, thermostat and programmer, pipework, radiators, fittings and hot water cylinder. You can claim as many times as you need to with no increase to your monthly payments and all parts and labour are included.
As you might expect these plans will not protect you against all problems with your central heating such as:
- Repairs or flushes needed because of sludge, limescale or corrosion
- Work needed to upgrade your boiler or system to meet current industry standards
- Pre-existing faults or problems with the system
- Underfloor heating systems or specialist controls for them
- Faults caused by someone else you used for repairs or design faults
- Problems caused by blocked or frozen condensate pipework
- Designer or non-standard radiators e.g. heated towel rail radiators
- Showers or taps.
These plans do not cover your home electrics although all 3 companies have other options which offer different levels of protection.
Prices & Contracts
YourRepair offer the lowest cost plan at £11 per month and SSE and HomeCare costing slightly more at £14.40 and £14.00 per month. You can make as many repair claims as you need to during your contract with no increase in monthly payments.
These are the prices when you choose to pay the excess amount on each claim; SSE offer the cheapest excess payment at £50 compare to the £60 payable with Your Repair and HomeCare Two. You can opt to pay no excess which will increase monthly payments to £16 for YourRepair, £18.90 for SSE and £22 with HomeCare Two.
HomeCare and SSE offer 1 year contracts and, if you choose to renew, the price of your cover could increase after that time. YourRepair, however, give you the opportunity to fix your monthly payments with longer contracts of 2 or 3 years. If you choose to take out a 3 year contract the monthly price increases to £16 per month with £60 excess or £21 with no excess, but you will have peace of mind that there will no unexpected price hikes.
YourRepair offer you a monthly direct debit payment option whereas you can pay for SSE and HomeCare on either an annual or monthly basis. Note: To pay for SSE cover in one annual payment you will need to apply over the phone.
Customer Support
No matter which plan you choose you’ll receive emergency repair support which means access to a 24/7 helpline so you can get the help you need day or night. All 3 companies have UK based call centres.
Who Will Fix Your Boiler?
Whichever brand you choose you can rest assured that the engineer carrying out the repair is Gas Safe registered and has been vetted for quality.
YourRepair claim to be able to fix over 95% of boiler breakdowns on the first visit due to their partnership with the following boiler manufacturers: Ariston, Alpha, Baxi, Ferroli, Glow-worm, Heatline, Ideal, Potterton, Vaillant, Vokera, Viessmann and Worcester Bosch. This means they will fix your boiler using the official manufacturer parts and usually use engineers who specialise in your brand of boiler. The YourRepair service is delivered via a network of over 5,000 independent Gas Safe engineers across the UK and with emergency callouts from Dyno Plumbing.
As the larger companies both SSE and British Gas train and manage their own team of nationwide engineers, although in some instances they may employ a ‘suitably qualified contractor’. They will fix your boiler with parts from ‘approved suppliers’ but, although they will deliver the same functionality, they may not be identical to the original manufacturer part.
What if the Boiler Can’t Be Fixed?
Sometimes it makes more financial sense to replace a boiler than to repair it. If this is the case and your boiler is under 7 years old YourRepair, HomeCare and SSE will replace your boiler. The differences in these cover plans come into effect when dealing with boilers older than 7 years.
YourRepair: If the boiler is older than 7 years and can’t be fixed, YourRepair won’t contribute to the cost of a replacement but you will have the option to cancel your cover with no charge.
HomeCare: HomeCare will replace a boiler up to 10 years old if it was installed by British Gas and has been covered by HomeCare ever since.
SSE: If SSE are unable to fix a boiler over 7 years old they offer you a 10% discount on a replacement boiler which is purchased from and installed by SSE.
Servicing & Safety Check
Included in all 3 cover plans is an annual service and safety check at no extra cost. This service is crucial to ensuring your boiler continues to operate safely, performs at maximum efficiency and should extend the life of your boiler by catching small issues early on before damage is caused.
| HomeCare | What’s covered? | Price per month |
| HomeCare One | Annual boiler service, Boiler and controls | |
| HomeCare Two | Annual boiler service, Boiler and controls, Central Heating | |
| HomeCare Three | Annual boiler service, Boiler and controls, Central Heating, Plumbing, Drains | |
| HomeCare Four | Annual boiler service, Boiler and controls, Central Heating, Plumbing, Drains, Home electrics |
| SSE | What’s covered? | Price per month |
| Boiler Cover | Boiler controls Thermostat & programmer Annual service | From £12.40 |
| Heating Cover | Boiler and controls Thermostat and programmer Your full central heating system Radiators and pipework Hot water cylinder Annual service | From £14.40 |
| SSE also offer boiler and central heating breakdown cover plans which don’t include annual servicing which start from £4.95 per month. | ||
| YourRepair | What’s covered? | Price per month |
| Boiler Cover | Boiler & Controls, Boiler Service & Safety Check Carbon Monoxide Test Boiler Replacement | from £9 |
| Central Heating Cover | Boiler & Controls, Boiler Service & Safety Check, Carbon Monoxide Test Boiler Replacement, Central Heating System | From £11 |
| Heating, Plumbing & Electrical Cover | Boiler & Controls, Boiler Service & Safety Check, Carbon Monoxide Test, Boiler Replacement, Central Heating System, Gas Supply Pipes, Plumbing, Electrics | From £14 |
| Complete Home Cover | Boiler & Controls, Boiler Service & Safety Check, Carbon Monoxide Test, Boiler Replacement, Central Heating System, Gas, Supply Pipes, Plumbing, Electrics, Water Supply Pipes, Drains, Taps & Toilets | From £19 |
HomeCare vs SSE vs YourRepair
All of these cover plans include the following benefits:
- Replacement boiler promise for unrepairable boilers under 7 years
- Unlimited repairs
- Parts and labour included
- 24/7 emergency repairs
- Gas Safe registered engineers
- Nationwide coverage
- Optional excess payments
- Annual service
Choose British Gas HomeCare for…
You can pay for HomeCare in one annual payment or monthly depending on what suits you better. The plan also covers accidental damage and promises that they will repair any damage caused to your home while trying to access and repair a fault (up to the value of £1,000). If your boiler can’t be fixed, you’re an existing HomeCare customer and your boiler was installed by British Gas then they offer boiler replacement until the boiler is over 10 years old.
Choose SSE for…
As with British Gas you can pay for your plan monthly or annually. If you already have a boiler servicing arrangement in place then SSE offer boiler only cover from as little as £4.95 per month. SSE also offer a 10% discount on the cost of a replacement boiler if your boiler is over 7 years old and deemed unrepairable. When you consider the cost of a new boiler can be anything from £750 – £2,500 this is a real incentive.
Choose YourRepair for…
Some boiler cover plans include a waiting period which means you can’t make a claim for a certain period after you’ve taken out the cover. YourRepair offer instant cover so there’s no gap in your cover (when you’re not protected) when you switch to them. The 2 or 3 year fixed price contracts are also a big attraction for many as you protect yourself against annual price increases which can sometimes happen when renewing with other brands.
IMPORTANT NOTE: While all the information and pricing we have included is correct at the time of writing, as with all insurance policies and cover plans there will be terms and conditions, restrictions, limitations and small print which may change at any time. Make sure you understand what is and isn’t included in any cover plan before you commit.
