It’s frustrating when your boiler breaks down, especially if it’s in the middle of a cold snap. If you want to make sure your boiler lasts as long as possible and you get fast repairs if you have a breakdown, then taking out boiler cover is a good solution.
Domestic & General are the UK’s leading provider of breakdown cover for domestic appliances, including boilers. They have been providing products and services to householders for over 100 years.
The website is small but easy to navigate and it also contains a help and advice section.
Domestic & General also supply you with your own portal to manage your boiler care plan which you can access from your telephone, computer or tablet. You can book and track repairs and manage your plan using the portal which is called ‘My Account.’
Topics
Boiler Cover and More
The company offer two boiler maintenance support plans.
The Gold Plan
The gold plan is cover for your boiler. It gives your boiler an annual service with up to £1,500 worth of repairs if your boiler stops working or fails the annual service.
If your boiler is beyond economical repair you are covered for a replacement boiler up to £750. Installation isn’t covered in the costs.
The annual boiler service should include the following:
- Making a visual check of the boiler to check for damage
- Checking the flame and making sure it is the right colour
- Looking at the boiler heat output or the pressure
- Checking the safety devices work
- Looking at the case seals to make sure they seal the casing effectively
- Checking the main boiler components: the heat exchanger and the burner, spark probe and main injector
- Turning the boiler off and then on again to make sure it sparks up correctly
- Cleaning any boiler parts if they need cleaning
Once the service is complete your engineer will give you a service report. If they have found any faults these will be included in the report with recommendations as to what needs to be done next.
The Platinum Plan
Like the Gold Plan, you will get an annual service for your boiler with up to £1,500 worth of repairs if your boiler fails the service or breaks down and stops working.
You will also get a replacement boiler up to the value of £750 or you can use this money towards the cost of a more expensive boiler if your current boiler is beyond economical repair.
The Platinum Plan also includes care of your central heating system. This includes radiators and exposed pipes.
Save money on your boiler cover by using our price comparison guide!
Pricing
Domestic & General don’t advertise their prices. Instead, you are asked a series of questions and then given a quote.
We asked for two quotes.
The first was for a Potterton combination boiler purchased in 2018. We confirmed the boiler was in good working order.
The second quote was for a Baxi combination boiler purchased in 2013.
Both quotes were for £19 per month for the Gold plan which amounts to £228 a year. This would appear to be the set price for any boiler up to eight years old.
The quotes included an offer to upgrade to the platinum plan for an extra £2 a month. This means a payment of £21 per month, which is an annual cost of £252.
If you want to save money on your boiler cover, check out our comparison guide!
Exclusions: What’s Not Included
The following problems are not included in either of the cover policies:
- Accidental, cosmetic or malicious damage to your boiler
- Sludge or damage from hard water deposits
- LGP, oil and electric heating systems
- The boiler flue
- Any pre-existing problems you had with your boiler before you took out the plan
There are other exclusions which are all outlined in their terms and conditions.
Domestic & General have their terms and conditions on their website. You can read them online, download them to your computer or print them out.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Domestic & General Boiler Cover
Advantages:
- No call-out charge
- No policy excess
- Price will suit most budgets
- Includes £750 boiler replacement
Disadvantages
- No other plans available for electricity or drainage
- No cover available for boilers over eight years old (although on the website it says the boiler must be under 15 years old, but, when you fill in the quotation form it won’t give you a quote for boilers purchased before 2013)
Customer Reviews
The Trustpilot reviews aren’t focused solely on their boiler plan but include their other domestic appliance services. Nevertheless, the Trustpilot reviews mention their fast and efficient service.
Trustpilot: 4/5, ‘Great’, (based on 32,227 reviews)
Which? Give Domestic & General a brand score of 62%. They say the company’s advantages are the fact that you can renew your boiler for its lifetime and that they give you unlimited callouts up to £1,500 a year.
In their customer satisfaction survey, they got 4 stars out of 5 for customer service, repair response time, ease of arranging an annual service and ease of contacting the company.
Use our price comparison guide to save money on your boiler cover!