Finding this blog post means you're probably already a Homeserve customer, possibly looking for an alternative. You might have just come to the end of your first year and received a huge price increase with little to no notice to source an alternative.
The current cost of living crisis means people are more than ever looking for ways to save money where possible. It's always a good idea to shop around and consider what value your current provider is offering you. Cost, reliability, service and speed of repair are all considerations when looking for services such as boiler cover in your home.
At the time of writing, Homeserve's Heating, Plumbing & Electrics Plus package is £18/Month (£216 for the year) with a £60 excess. The expected price at renewal is £54/Month (£659.52 for the year) for customers who 'haven't made a claim', great!
So what alternative options do you have?
You could risk it and go without any cover - This easy option exposes you to the risk of expensive boiler breakdown faults, trying to contact and arrange an emergency visit in the early morning when a pipe bursts or waiting in for a heating engineer who doesn't bother to show up when they said they would. In our experience the average heating system repair now ranges from £130 - £350 and we hear regularly from new clients how difficult they find it finding a good, reliable gas engineer.
Barter - You could ring Homeserve in the hope of getting a lower price if you say your leaving, the time taken to do this could have been spent finding a guaranteed cheaper alternative. You would possibly have to rinse and repeat this strategy every year in the hope of keeping your price low!
Check if your home insurance cover's faults - In recent years home insurance providers have delved into the world of heating, plumbing & electrical repairs. The main issue being that they generally rely on the same unreliable contractors you were going to if you went without insurance. We regularly encounter home owners who have gone weeks without heating due to their provider not being able to organise a repair quickly.
The final option - Chose a local provider - Big enough to cope, small enough to care. Local providers generally have a denser provision of engineers per customer meaning if you report a fault with your heating, plumbing or electrics you should be seen quicker.
MCS operate in Yorkshire & Lincolnshire providing home care plans, with a 40 year history of providing a high level of cover to tens of thousands of clients in the area.
At the time of writing MCS' plans start from as little as £10/Month while our popular comparable first year Triplecare cover (Heating, Plumbing & Electrics) is £16/Month (£192 for the year) with no excess.
98% of clients renew their policies when we consider the age and breakdown history of your systems, with the average renewal being £24/month (£288 for the year). 80% of plans do not have a price increase or only increase by the annual rate of inflation!
Potential savings - In the first year you would save £24 plus £60 for every call out you have to your home. Second year savings are £371.52 plus £60 for every call out! That means you could save at least £395.52 by opting for a local boiler cover expert like MCS.
A range of providers are available nationally with MCS being local experts in the Yorkshire & Lincolnshire areas. Plan offerings & inclusions between companies may vary - Prices accurate at time of writing: 30/07/2024
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