What’s Home Emergency cover?
Home emergency cover is a home insurance add-on that protects you against unexpected incidents that need immediate attention, like broken boilers, pipes or radiators.
It covers the cost for a tradesperson to resolve the emergency after you've had your policy for seven days. It doesn’t cover general repairs, the cost of any damage caused, or the cost of permanently fixing the issue; your home insurance typically covers this.
If you rent your home, your landlord may already have this cover.
What’s covered with Home Emergency cover?
Compare the two types of cover below:
Boiler Emergency
|
Home Emergency Cover |
|
|---|---|---|
Boiler and heating system |
||
Alternative accommodation |
||
Temporary heating |
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24-hour emergency helpline |
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Up to £500 cover |
||
Claims per year |
Two |
Unlimited |
Included in policy |
Admiral Gold | Admiral Platinum |
Upgradable |
||
Drainage |
||
Electrics |
||
Roofing |
||
Pests |
||
Windows, doors and locks |
||
Plumbing |
How do I upgrade to Home Emergency cover?
New customers can add it as a policy upgrade when buying an Admiral or Admiral Gold policy.
You can add Home Emergency cover to your existing policy at any time by contacting us.
What home emergencies do we cover?
Home Emergency cover provides up to £500 for call-out charges, labour and parts to repair home emergencies such as:
Plumbing
We'll help with emergencies relating to the water pipes in your home, between the main stopcock and the taps. This includes leaks, burst pipes, blocked sinks and drains. We only cover toilet unit emergencies when there isn't another working toilet in the property.
Home Emergency cover doesn’t cover finding the source of a water leak (trace and access). Check if your home insurance covers this.
Boiler and central heating
We’ll cover you if your boiler or central heating undergoes total failure because of an emergency in your home which results in no heating or running hot water.
We’ll give you up to £50 to buy a heater (yours to keep) if we can’t repair your boiler or heating system, or a part needs ordering after our first visit.
We don't cover boilers under manufacturer warranty.
Roof damage
We’ll cover a temporary repair of roof damage due to storms or bad weather. We won’t cover damage due to poor roof maintenance or wear and tear.
Electrics
We’ll cover for when your home isn't habitable due to complete electrical failure. This doesn’t include issues like power cuts or National Grid failures.
Pests
We’ll get rid of home infestations involving rats, mice, wasps, hornets, grey squirrels and cockroaches.
Windows, doors and locks
If your home isn’t secure because of a smashed window or damage to locks, we’ll help solve the immediate security risk.
Gas pipes
If there’s a leak from the gas supply pipe between your meter and a gas appliance, we’ll repair or replace the section of pipe.
However, this is only if the National Gas Emergency Service have isolated and found the leak.
Alternative accommodation
We’ll pay up to £250 towards the cost of alternative accommodation if your home isn’t fit to stay in for one or more nights. This includes transport to and from the accommodation.
What isn’t covered?
While we aim to help you fix any home emergencies, here are some of our general exclusions:
Problems that aren’t a total failure
You can’t claim on Home Emergency cover if there isn’t a ‘total failure’, meaning there’s a fault that causes a continuous or complete loss of service. For example, having no hot water is an emergency, while low water pressure isn’t.
Any work needed after immediate repair
Home Emergency cover will cover the cost (up to £500) to stop the immediate risk to your home. It won’t cover the cost of any damage caused by the risk, such as water-damaged floors. Your home insurance might cover you for this, though.
Emergencies reported after 48 hours of discovery
We need to know about the emergency within two days of you discovering it for a claim to be valid.
Unoccupied properties
We don’t cover home emergencies in properties that are unoccupied for more than 30 days in a row.
Temporarily frozen pipes
We don't cover temporarily frozen pipes.
However, your main Buildings Insurance may cover for frost damage to plumbing, so contact your provider if that happens.
This isn’t an exhaustive list – read more about our Home Emergency and Boiler Emergency cover in our policy books.
How to make a claim
If you have a home emergency emergency and want to make a claim, please visit our make a claim page for our contact details.
Alternatively, it's quick and convenient to register your claim online. Simply log into MyAccount and click the link in the 'Emergency Assistance' section.
If you think you have a gas leak, call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.
Award-winning cover
Awarded Commended Home Insurance Provider 2023
Home Emergency cover awarded Moneyfacts’ highest five star rating
Your questions answered
What’s the difference between Boiler Emergency cover and Home Emergency cover?
Boiler Emergency cover pays up to £500 for any heating or boiler emergency. You won't pay any excess and can make two claims every policy term. Home Emergency cover has everything that Boiler Emergency cover includes plus extra cover for plumbing, drainage and a range of potential home disasters with no excess and unlimited claims.
If I make a boiler or home emergency claim, will this affect my premium?
No, boiler and home emergency claims don’t affect your premium.
My boiler is beyond economic repair, will you make a contribution to its replacement?
Boiler and Home Emergency provide temporary repairs only - we won't cover replacing your boiler or any contribution towards replacing it.
What happens if the cost of a repair is more than £500?
If your emergency repair costs more, you’ll need to pay any amount over £500.
Can I contact my own tradesperson?
Only if we’ve agreed to it beforehand.
