Hi all, I`m looking at getting a homeserve style arrangement set up whereby I pay a monthly fee, and any problems with the boiler, electricity, plumbing etc are the responsibility of the company to resolve - one phone call, they send someone out and pay for it for me. There are lots of different policies out there, and I was wondering if anyone knew of any particularly good value options?
At the moment we can`t realisitcally afford to self insure - if there is a major problem now then we would struggle to pay for (for example) a new boiler.
I think the usual styles of policy available will cover repairs, but if the boiler cannot be repaired and must be replaced, you would still be expected to pay for the new boiler (or perhaps for the difference between the cost of replacing the boiler and what it would have cost to repair the old one if it had been possible).
Most won't cover a replacement boiler, they like to exclude the expensive things.
TBH the cheapest and easiest way of getting all these things covered without big exclusions that could leave you with a big bill, is to sell up and rent! These days you may well be able to rent for less than your mortgage plus maintenance costs
- then you have no worries about plumbing, electrics etc. Frankly - if you can't afford to self-insure, then you can't afford to own.
A new boiler is perhaps not a good example. Say waking up and finding a burst pipe leaking water all through the house. Or the pipe leading to the main drain blocking up/collapsing. Things like that that are expensive.
Yes the kind of household cover plans that I`m talking about make a profit for the company running them, but I`d rather have a single monthly payment that I know covers any issues like this than go month to month and hope that nothing big happens. In a years time we`ll have enough money put away to self insure, but right now we`re starting from zero.
We can afford to own - we just don`t have the spare cash right now to pay for any big problems. In a years time when we have saved up more money then we will be in a position to self insure. Remember, everyone has to start somewhere.
Any damage caused by a leaking pipe should be covered by your house insurance. As to getting the leak fixed, that shouldn't be too costly. I recently got an emergency plumber from the Yellow Pages to fix a problem for well under 100 - that'll probably only be a couple of months' premiums for the type of insurance cover you want (if anyone does it).
Again - check what your house insurance covers. ISTR my water board does cover specifically for this if your house insurance doesn't cover it.
The trouble is I don't think you'll find an insurance policy that covers everything you want. Most will exclude expensive things - which is just what you don't want.
If you'll be OK in a year - then would it not be possible to borrow if problems occur in the meantime? What about applying for a few credit cards with 0% on purchases
12 months - then you've got a line of interest free credit should you need it.
Well it's too late now, but my point was that maintenance is part of the cost of ownership, and if you can't afford that then you can't afford to own, just like if you can't afford the mortgage or council tax. Good luck with your search for insurance that covers everything you want - if you do find such an insurance at a decent price I'd be surprised - but please tell us about it if you do.
Basically I`m looking for insurance to get as much covered as possible for a year or so. In the mean time we`ll be putting as much money asside asany eventualities as possible. As well as this kind of cover, we also need to be able to cover any problems with our cars (for example), as both of us work in situations where public transport simply isn`t as option.
As I said in another post, a lot of the time it is preferable to pay someone else to cover the risk for you and to arrange for help. Roadside recovery is a lot cheaper if you organise it yourself, but most people use a recovery service, myself included. Having gone through the messing about of trying to organise a garage to come out when the car is stuck on the side of a motorway more than once, I really can`t be bothered doing it again, so I pay for the convenience of not having to. I am also covered for a hire car or hotel if I break down far away from home, and have even used the at home feature to confirm my thinking that a fault with the g/f`s car was indeed dirty fuel and not anything more serious. Yes we pay a little bit more than self insuring against this risk, but TBH I`m happy to pay more for situations where I am not an expert. I`d never insure my PC against faults like this, as I built it myself and am more than able to fix any problems that may arrise with it - I know PC`s.
As I said regarding being able to afford to buy - we can afford to buy, within 12 months we`ll have saved up more than enough to cover any realistic eventualities at which point this cover won`t be needed. I have access to as much credit as I need to pay for work to be done, but while we are getting ourselves set up with enough money in the bank for the self insurance I`d much rather have the cover than risk having to pay a large bill that we simply aren`t prepared for.
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