What is home emergency cover?

September 11, 2024

Home emergencies – they hardly spell the end of the world. But they can cause considerable grief and leave you right out on a limb when they happen. Of course, they tend to be emergencies because they occur completely unexpectedly – yet likely to come at a very critical moment.

Everyone’s ready to enjoy the traditional Christmas dinner, for instance, when the cooker stops working. You and all your guests are likely to call that a home emergency.

Home emergency cover does just what it says. By way of suitable insurance, it helps to take care of the immediate impact of what’s happened and puts things right for you to face another day. So let’s take a closer look at some of the potential home emergencies that can be guarded against thanks to home emergency cover:

Boilers, hot water, and central heating

• the modern central heating and hot water boiler is built to exacting standards, but it can still malfunction (usually in the dead of winter when you need it most) – and many home emergency policies cover the (almost) immediate repair of your boiler (unless it is unrepairable);

• depending on the policy, it is not only boiler breakdown that can be covered but also the associated emergencies – such as a failure of your central heating system, the boiler and its controls, or even provision for regular servicing of this essential household appliance;

Plumbing

• the plumbing in your home is typically something you barely give a second thought to – that is until something goes wrong;

• blocked pipes or other failures of your drainage and sewerage systems can cause immediate and potentially serious health and safety problems;

• home emergency cover can give you the assurance of a prompt callout by a plumber or other tradesman to repair and make good the issues;

Home electrics

• a home emergency can provide an uncomfortable reminder of how much we rely on a steady and reliable supply of electricity;

• home emergency cover can offer safeguards that will see supplies restored in the event of an electrical breakdown or failure;

Storm damage

• home emergency cover can help to make sure that if there is structural damage to your home in the wake of a storm, temporary repair works are immediately made to minimise and mitigate the risk of further loss or damage – essential repairs to the roof to prevent further ingress of water for example;

Home security

• if the security of your home is compromised, that is likely to constitute an emergency that must be promptly addressed – and home emergency cover can do just that;

• it might provide the means for changing locks and issuing new keys, for example, if the originals are lost or stolen;

• if doors or windows – including the locks that protect them – are damaged or broken these might also raise the type of security risks that home emergency cover can resolve;

Pests and vermin

• home emergency policies have also been developed to give you peace of mind that any sudden infestation of pests or vermin in your home will be brought under immediate control;

• the insurance could prove just what you need to keep rats, mice, wasps, or hornets at bay;

Alternative accommodation

• when the home emergency proves too big or serious for immediate on-the-spot resolution, you might need to seek temporary accommodation pending the completion of suitable repairs;

• some home emergency policies cover the expense of the necessary alternative accommodation – typically subject, of course, to a ceiling on the maximum costs.

Home emergency cover might help prevent a temporary inconvenience from developing into a full-blown disaster.