Best home emergency cover 2024

What elements do we use to determine a Star Rating?

We consider an extensive range of features when assigning a Star Rating to a home emergency policy. These include:

• Emergency cover limit per claim 
• Emergency cover excess
• Plumbing cover
• Burst pipes cover
• Blocked drains cover
• Toilet unit cover
• Boiler breakdown cover
• Annual boiler service
• Root damage cover
• Domestic power supply cover
• Internal gas supply pipe cover
• Water supply pipe cover
• Home security cover
• Lost keys cover
• Vermin infestation cover
• Alternative accommodation cover

What is home emergency cover?

Home insurance emergency cover is usually an add-on to your standard home and contents insurance policy, though you can find standalone policies too. Either way, it covers you should an event occur that makes your home uninhabitable, causes permanent damage, risks your health and safety or makes your home unsafe. For example, a boiler breaking down would be classed as an emergency, along with burst pipes, lost keys or an infestation of mice or rats.

How home emergency cover works

If an emergency happens that you’re covered for, simply contact your insurer as soon as possible (most will have an emergency helpline). They’ll send out the relevant tradesperson in a matter of hours to rectify the issue.

Your policy will cover the cost of any urgent repairs – including the call-out fee and labour costs – helping to quickly fix the problem without further damage occurring. Note that it differs to home insurance, which instead covers you for the cost of repairing the damage to your home and its contents.

What home emergency insurance covers

As a general rule, you can expect the following to be included in a typical home emergency policy:

• Burst pipes
• Boiler breakdown (note that some providers will require a separate boiler insurance policy)
• Central heating issues
• Roof damage
• Blocked drains
• Electrical failure
• Pest infestation
• Home security issues
• Plumbing and drainage
• Home appliances
• Alternative accommodation

Just make sure to check with your home emergency provider exactly what events they will cover, as all policies will be different.

What isn’t covered

A home emergency policy won’t cover the cost of repairing any damage to your home as a result of the emergency – it simply pays to fix the problem itself. For example, if your pipes burst the policy would cover the initial repair, but not the resulting water damage. This means that if extensive damage occurred and you needed additional repairs or refurbishment, you may need to file a separate home insurance claim instead.

Other things that won’t normally be covered include:

• General wear and tear
• Damp or mould issues
• Minor issues (such as a dripping tap)
• Old boilers (refer to your policy so you know what the cut-off is)
• Damage to contents (refer to your home or gadget insurance policy to replace or repair damaged items)
• Any claims within the first 14 days of taking out a policy, or if your home has been unoccupied for 30 days or more

Note that home emergency policies usually have a maximum amount of money that they will cover for individual repairs and labour costs, as well as a cap on the number of callouts allowed each year. You will be expected to take reasonable care of items covered under the policy as well, such as making sure your boiler is serviced every year. Fail to do this and your claim may be rejected.

Home emergency cover costs

As with any type of insurance, the cost of emergency home cover will vary depending on the provider and the level of protection you’re getting, as well as if you’re buying it as a standalone policy or an add-on to your existing home insurance. The amount of excess could impact the cost as well, so again, make sure to check with your provider and perform a thorough home emergency cover comparison so you know you’re getting the best deal.