Boilers can be the bane of any landlord’s life. Not only are they notoriously temperamental, but they are expensive to fix and essential for tenants’ daily lives. If something goes wrong with a boiler in your rental property, you need to sort it out, and fast – and you may get hit with a hefty bill in the process. Landlord boiler insurance is, therefore, a way to put your mind at rest, covering you financially and ensuring your tenants are kept warm and cosy.
Landlord boiler cover works slightly differently to other types of insurance, as there are two ways of insuring your boiler. Most insurance companies offer some kind of landlord insurance, onto which you can typically add boiler cover for an extra fee. However, many energy suppliers also offer boiler cover, either as part of your energy deal with them or as an add-on feature.
Dealing with your boiler, gas supply and bills all in one place can be convenient, and energy suppliers have the added advantage of having the relevant technical expertise and approved engineers in-house. However, it is worth considering both options, as cover through energy suppliers tends to be more expensive. The following list shows some of the current boiler cover policies available for landlords on the market.
Common Routes to Finding a Provider
- Approaching insurers directly – Landlord boiler insurance is a popular add-on to other landlord insurance products offered by most insurance providers. You can find most landlord insurance products online through each insurer’s website, where you can generate an online quote and see the features of each policy.
- Energy suppliers – Another way to find boiler insurance cover is to go through your energy supplier. Most gas and electricity companies can offer boiler insurance as part of an energy deal. It can be more convenient to do it this way, as you can handle all boiler-related matters such as servicing, repairs, meter readings and energy consumption all in one place. However, energy suppliers tend to be more expensive than insurers.
- Going through a broker – Brokers tend to have a bad rep, and often undeservedly. Brokers have vast amounts of industry experience, as well as specialist knowledge of a range of insurance packages. They will be able to help you find a tailored policy suited to your business and can help you build a landlord policy that includes boiler cover, or find you a standalone product.
- Comparison websites – As landlord boiler insurance often comes as an additional feature to a more comprehensive policy, it’s not always easy to compare prices at face value. Comparison websites give you an overview of the features of each plan and the benefits of each provider without having to spend time researching insurers individually.
Below we’ve covered a mixed list of the above providers/options available to UK landlord and rental property businesses, for exploring and researching the right provider for your business.
Disclaimer: The details below were accurate at the time of writing this article, we are not promoting or guaranteeing any particular provider or product in this list, this list is purely for informational purposes. You should always carry out your own research and seek professional advice before deciding on if to use any financing facility, product or provider.
Landlord Boiler Insurers
Direct Line
One of the few providers offering boiler cover as standard as part of their landlord buildings insurance policy is Direct Line, an award-winning landlord insurance provider. Their landlord home insurance policy provides comprehensive coverage, rated five stars on defaqto, including cover for boilers as well as other built-in appliances such as air-conditioning systems, fitted ovens and alarm systems. Direct Line requires a £200 excess for any boiler breakdown claims, one of the higher excess sums on the market, after which they’ll cover costs associated with the repair.
All policyholders get access to a 24-hour legal advice helpline, as standard. Another benefit of Direct Line’s policy is that they can also handle retrospective claims provided you have an engineer’s report. You can generate a quote quickly and easily using their online tool.
Simply Business (Broker)
With over 600,000 customers, Simply Business offers a range of products suitable for all types of landlords, offering expert advice and an award-winning claims team available 24 hours a day. Simply Business offer boiler breakdown cover for landlords as part of their home emergency insurance product. If you take out a policy with Simply Business, you can get help at any time of day from an approved engineer to repair or replace your boiler, ensuring your tenants never go long without hot water and heating.
Simply Business has ties with the industry’s leading insurance providers, meaning they can assemble a competitive policy tailored to your business. You can generate a quote online in under ten minutes.
HomeServe
Rated 4.4 out of 5 stars from over 40,000 reviews, HomeServe provide products to over 1.8 million people in the UK. HomeServe can offer boiler breakdown cover as a feature of their most comprehensive landlord’s insurance policy, which can extend to central heating problems and leaking pipes. They also provide a Landlord’s Gas Boiler Cover product, which covers both the central heating boiler and controls as well as replacement of the heat exchanger.
A benefit of going through HomeServe is that tenants can make claims to HomeServe directly, making it hassle-free for landlords. Policyholders can also choose to add the Gas Safety Certificate and boiler service, which are free in the first year of the policy. HomeServe also does not restrict the number of claims you can make on the policy. HomeServe’s product offers one of the lower excess amounts, starting at just £60 per claim.
Row
If you take out a policy with Row, you can get up to £5,000 in cover, or £2,500 per individual claim. Their landlord boiler insurance comes with two levels of protection to choose from which can cover both the boiler and heating controls. There are no call-out fees, and the policy includes parts and labour costs. You can also add gas, water and electrical supply to your cover.
Row is a particularly good choice for landlords with older boilers, as they’ll insure boilers up to 15 years old. Policyholders have access to a 24/7 emergency claims line and can make multiple claims on the same policy. Their award-winning customer service, coupled with the security of insurance underwritten by Allianz, makes Row a popular choice among landlords.
Hometree
Boiler breakdown cover offered by Hometree comes as a boiler Care Package, which covers gas boilers, flue and controls, and comes with an annual boiler service. They also cover the gas supply pipe, which connects your gas appliances to your meter. Rated excellent on Trustpilot, Hometree responds to 90% of call-outs within 24 hours and promise not to unfairly hike up your prices if you want to renew your contract at the end of the policy term.
One notable exclusion to Hometree’s cover is the cost of replacing the boiler if it’s beyond repair, although they do offer to pay 15% towards a new one if you use them to install it. There’s no limit to the number of call-outs with their packages, and they can cover boilers of all ages.
British Gas
British Gas offers a range of boiler cover packages for landlords, offering four levels of cover. Their most basic HomeCare cover, HomeCare One, includes an annual boiler service as well as repairs to the boiler and controls. On top of these features, their most comprehensive package includes central heating repairs, repairs to the plumbing system, drains cover and home electrical cover. You can get a quote online through their website, or call them directly to speak to one of their advisers.
EDF Energy
Landlord Protect is an insurance product offered by EDF Energy together with their partner Collinson. Their product includes cover for the boiler and its controls as well as radiators and thermostats. Annual boiler servicing and the CP12 Gas Safety Certificate and Inspection is included as standard, carried out by one of their qualified and audited contractors across the UK. Policyholders will benefit from a 24/7 claims helpline. While replacing the boiler is not included, they will offer £500 towards a replacement boiler if its beyond repair. This product is ideal for any landlords with one or more properties, provided they are single occupancy domestic rentals. They can cover a range of boilers under 11 years old.
Towergate Insurance
With a rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars on Feefo according to over 9,000 reviews, Towergate Insurance’s landlord boiler cover includes up to £1,000 of boiler cover over 12 months. The policy provides emergency repairs to the property’s primary heating system, or you can upgrade your cover to include home emergency insurance, which covers other domestic disasters, such as pest control or blocked drains. Policyholders have access to a 24-hour helpline, through which they can get help from a network of trustworthy mechanics and engineers. Existing policyholders can get a discount online.
Churchill
Landlords can choose to add boiler cover to their buildings and contents cover with Churchill. This optional feature includes the boiler and heating systems as well as hot water heaters. Policyholders will have access to a free 24-hour business helpline and are assigned a personal claims handler to guide landlords through each claim. Churchill’s policy is particularly helpful for landlords with more than one rental property, as landlords can enjoy discounted premiums for multiple properties. One key exclusion to note with Churchill is that annual servicing is not included.
SSE
Founded in 1998, SSE is an energy services company, part of the OVO Energy family which is the UK’s leading independent energy supplier. Landlords can take out several policies with SSE, which can cover the boiler in their rental property. The Landlord Boiler cover includes parts, labour and repairs for the boiler and controls, as well as the thermostat and programmer.
The policy comes with a free initial system inspection at the start of the policy, as well as an annual boiler service and Gas Safety Certificate included. This minimum level of cover includes free boiler replacement, or you can upgrade to the Heating Cover plan to include cover for the full central heating system. New customers can sign up online or over the phone.
Scottish Power
One of the cheaper boiler cover providers for landlords is Scottish Power, offering a reduced price for the first three months of their policies. Their Boiler & Service Care product ensures that clients’ gas boilers run smoothly throughout the year. Included in their cover is annual servicing, ongoing maintenance tips and advice and a 24-hour UK-based helpline for remote support if something goes wrong. If your boiler fails its yearly service or stops working, they will send round a Gas Safe engineer. Finally, if your boiler breaks down completely, they will replace it up to the value of £750.
Swale Heating
Swale Heating offers several boiler cover and service plans which provide comprehensive protection for your gas central heating boiler and heating system. One of the main perks of a policy with Swale is that customers do not need to pay an excess fee for repairs. All parts and labour are included, as well as an annual service. Landlords can choose to add a Gas Safety Certificate to all their insurance products for a modest additional fee. Customers have the benefit of 24-hour access to help and advice, with an unlimited amount of call-outs per year. You can purchase your boiler cover online, with an added discount if you have your boiler installed by Swale Heating.
Domestic & General
The UK’s leading provider of appliance breakdown protection is Domestic & General, who have been providing aftercare for domestic appliances for over 100 years. A boiler plan from Domestic & General can either cover solely the boiler or can be upgraded to cover the central heating system, too. Their maintenance and support plans have two levels of cover, Gold and Platinum. Both products include an annual boiler service from an expert Gas Safe engineer, and policyholders will have continuous access to maintenance advice and support through their online Boiler Care portal. The cover has a limit of up to £1,500 for repairs. They can also cover the costs of replacing the boiler up to £750.
More Than
Another reputable insurer offering boiler cover is More Than, with an ‘excellent’ rating on Trustpilot. Trustpilot landlord home emergency cover is an optional add-on to their standard landlord policies. The feature includes a limit of up to £1,000 to cover repairs, labour and call-out fees. More Than have a vast network of qualified Gas Safe registered engineers around the UK, to send out as soon as something goes wrong – which you can report straight away on their 24-hour emergency claims line. A key exclusion to note is that this cover doesn’t include annual boiler servicing or boiler replacement.
Saga
Customers with a landlord insurance policy with Saga can add Home and Heating Emergency as an extra feature to their existing policy, which can help cover the costs if the boiler, heating controls or central heating system completely breaks down, up to a limit of £2,000. Saga has a network of approved tradespeople to respond to issues, and landlords will receive a guarantee on any permanent repairs they carry out. Policyholders have 24/7 access to an emergency helpline. A primary benefit of taking out a policy with Saga is that your tenants can deal with the insurer directly on your behalf, making it easier to resolve problems quickly and efficiently when you aren’t around.
Simple Landlords
Awarded the Trusted Service Award by Feefo in 2020, Simple Landlords are a specialist landlord insurance provider. They offer three levels of Landlord Home Emergency cover, which you can add to a Simple Landlords Insurance policy. Their basic level of protection starts with emergency repairs. In contrast, their top level of cover extends to the primary heating system, plumbing and drainage, water and gas supply and pest infestations, as well as property security following an accident or break-in. Policyholders have 24-hour access to an emergency helpline. Advisers can then send round a trusted UK mechanic from Simple’s network of trusted UK tradespeople.
Kaput
One of the few insurance providers offering a standalone boiler cover policy is Kaput. Their flexible and affordable policy covers both the boiler and central heating as standard, with an unlimited amount of call-outs and no call-out fee. They provide up to £1,000 of cover per claim, which can cover both parts and labour.
Policyholders can contact an adviser at any time of day using their round-the-clock emergency claims line. If any permanent repair work is carried out by one of their approved engineers, Kaput guarantee the job for 12 months from the date of the claim. They also offer up to £300 towards replacing the boiler if it’s beyond economical repair, or £150 if the boiler is over seven years old.
Endsleigh
Home emergency cover is an optional feature offered by Endsleigh which landlords can add to their landlord insurance policies. This product can cover you 24 hours a day for a range of emergencies, including boiler and heating system problems. Other issues it can cover include drainage problems, lost keys, vermin infestations, roofing problems and security problems.
Endsleigh will help you respond to issues as quickly as possible and arrange repairs by their team of qualified professionals, with no call-out fees. You can also add your tenants to your cover so that they can deal with the insurer directly if you’re not around. A key thing to note is that Endsleigh requires landlords to arrange an annual service for their boilers, as this is not included in the policy.
HomeLet
HomeLet is a specialist home insurance provider for homeowners and landlords. Their Landlord Emergency Assistance policy covers a whole host of emergency issues that can occur at your rental property, one of which is boiler and heating, if selected. Other emergency issues covered include property security, plumbing, lost keys, cooking systems, roofing and electricity supply. Whatever the emergency, you can contact an expert for advice and support at any time of day through their 24/7 helpline. HomeLet’s cover is only available for boilers which are less than ten years old.
Summary
Boilers are infamous for being temperamental, threatening to break down at any moment. Not only are they fickle, but they’re costly to fix and essential for hot water and heating. For landlords, the pressure of repairing a boiler quickly and efficiently is even higher, to ensure their tenants are warm, safe and have access to hot water.
Landlords not only have a duty of care to keep their properties safe and in working order, but they also have legal responsibilities when it comes to the boiler and gas appliances in buy-to-let properties. Hopefully this list is a good starting point for researching options and now you have a clearer idea of what coverage will work for your business.
