What boiler cover does not cover

Why we publish our own exclusions

Everything below comes from the Smart Plan cover plan terms and conditions. The full PDF is linked at the bottom of this page, and the clause numbers are quoted as we go so you can check every line for yourself. This page is a plain English guide to the exclusions, limits and fees that decide most repairs, not a replacement for the document.

Most people meet these exclusions at the worst moment, with the engineer already in the kitchen. Read them now, and if you decide a plan is not for you, that is a fair outcome.

One thing comes first. If you smell gas or suspect a leak, open the doors and windows, do not touch electrical switches, and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.

The six things that catch people out most

If you read nothing else, read these.

• A fault you already have, or one we have identified and you have chosen not to fix.
• Sludge, scale, rust and corrosion, and anything caused by them.
• Radiators, which the boiler and central heating section excludes outright.
• Flues, flue liners and ventilation, across every product we sell.
• Manufacturer defects, which our terms exclude. If the boiler is still inside its maker's warranty, the maker is who to ask. If that warranty has run out, the repair is yours to fund.
• The cover limit. It is not an exclusion, it is a ceiling, and above it you pay the difference.

Pre-existing faults: the exclusion that ends most conversations

Cover is for breakdowns that happen after you join. Our terms define a defect as an inherent fault or performance failure judged to be in existence prior to inception, or a future risk of failure that we identify, then exclude any works to repair a defect we have identified (general exclusion 13).

There is a harsher second half. If our engineer spots a defect, we quote to put it right, and if you decide against that work, our terms class that part of the equipment as an exclusion (general terms 11). A known fault you leave alone stops being covered.

So if your boiler is showing a fault code today, a cover plan is the wrong tool. Book a one-off boiler repair instead. The link sits in the Read next list at the foot of this page.

Sludge, scale and anything caused by dirty system water

General exclusion 22 rules out “Works relating to and or caused by the result and or presence of sludge, scale deposits, damage caused by increased pressure and or contamination (rust and or corrosion)”.

It matters because dirty system water causes symptoms that look like something else: cold spots low down on radiators, repeated lockouts, a noisy heat exchanger, an early pump failure. When an engineer traces the fault to system water, the repair falls outside the plan even though the failed part sits inside the boiler. Two related exclusions sit beside it: works caused by a build up of leaves, fat, flux, cement or oil (general exclusion 23), and anything caused by freezing (general exclusion 21), which puts frozen condensate pipes outside cover.

What is not covered, and which clause says so

Which of those apply to every product

The rows above headed flues and ventilation, resets and wear items, outbuildings and shared plant, making good and trace and access, designer products, and new installations and loss of supply all come from section 10 of the terms. Section 10 is headed general exclusions and applies to every product on your agreement, so it catches drainage, plumbing, electrical, pest control, home security and appliance cover as well as the boiler.

A few more general exclusions are worth knowing before you buy. We exclude repairs relating to negligence, misuse or third party interference (6), manufacturer defects (7), and works on equipment not installed to regulations or manufacturer instructions (8). We exclude any cost of temporary alternative accommodation while work is completed (11), and we can decline work where we believe there is a risk to the safety or wellbeing of our operatives (10).

That is a summary, not the whole document. The full list runs to 25 general exclusions plus a separate list for each module, and the PDF is linked at the foot of this page.

The cover limit is the real ceiling

Exclusions decide whether a repair is covered. The cover limit decides how much we pay. Our terms define it as the maximum value we commit to for repairs and replacement in a single 12 month period, parts and labour together.

For boiler and central heating cover that limit is £500 if the boiler is under 7 years old, or £200 if it is over 7 (cover definitions 2.1(d)). Appliance cover is £225 per appliance. Drainage, plumbing, electrical, pest and home security are £500 each. Anything above the limit is yours to pay.

The age split works against older boilers, which are the ones likelier to need an expensive part. If yours is well past 7 years old, price a realistic repair before deciding whether £200 of annual cover earns its place. Cover is one boiler per agreement, so a second boiler needs a second product (cover definitions 2.1(a)).

Beyond economic repair: when we stop repairing and pay instead

Our terms define beyond economic repair as the point where we estimate the repair exceeds the value of the equipment, or where parts are not available, and they treat failure of the heat exchanger or the PCB as automatically beyond economic repair (cover definitions 2.1(c)). Those are two of the priciest parts in a boiler, so if either fails, expect a payment rather than a repair.

That payment is a contribution, set at whichever is lower: the retail value of the equipment including installation, or your cover limit less works already completed that period (general terms 5). On an older boiler that has had one repair already, the arithmetic can leave a modest figure, which is why the honest conversation at that stage is about replacing the boiler rather than covering it.

Access, no-access and the £95 call-out fee

On boiler and central heating cover, a £95 call-out fee is paid in advance in three situations.

First, your opening 30 days. Cover still applies. What changes is that a call-out in that window carries the £95 fee, paid before we attend (general terms 1). It is a fee window, not a gap in cover.

Second, a call-out where the fault turns out to be excluded. We still attend and quote where we can, but the visit is chargeable (general terms 2).

Third, asking for the annual service inside those first 30 days (cover definitions 2.1(b)). Pay monthly and that service can only be carried out after six months of payments (general terms 6).

A fourth fee works the other way round. If our engineer attends in the agreed window and cannot get in, a £95 no-access fee is charged after that failed visit and must be settled before any other work can be completed (general terms 13). It is your job to make sure we can reach the equipment, and failing to do so can also bring a call-out fee, because our engineers will not move belongings unless it is agreed beforehand (general terms 12).

The other five modules work differently, and this is the part people miss. On drainage, plumbing, electrical, pest control and home security cover, our terms require a call-out fee before every attendance, not only in defined situations (sections 3.1(c), 4.1(d), 5.1(c), 6.1(d) and 7.1(c)). If you are picking modules, price that in.

There is one further fee. A missed payment costs £20, and our services are not available to you until the arrears and that fee have been settled in full (general terms 15). A missed direct debit therefore pauses cover until you put it right.

Cover plan call-outs run Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00, unless it is an emergency breakdown, and we aim to get an engineer out to you within two working days. A Friday evening fault is normally a Monday booking.

What a cover plan is not

Smart Plan is a service plan, not insurance. Our legal conditions state that the agreement is not a contract of insurance and not a guarantee, and that nothing in the terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer.

That decides who pays. Our terms exclude “Any repair relating to damage from civil unrest, fire, lightning, floods, storms, frost, explosion or other extraneous circumstances” (general exclusion 3), which is home insurance territory, along with negligence, misuse and third party interference (general exclusion 6). Manufacturer defects are excluded outright (general exclusion 7): if the boiler is still inside its maker's warranty the maker deals with it, and if that warranty has expired the repair is yours to fund. Bad installation belongs to the installer, and our terms exclude works on equipment not installed to regulations (general exclusion 8). A cover plan sits in the gap: ordinary breakdowns on equipment fitted properly and maintained.

It is not an upgrade route. Replacing equipment in addition to a repair is a general exclusion unless the terms say otherwise (12), so a plan will not turn an ageing boiler into a new one, and cosmetic damage to paintwork, dents, scratches and cracked screens are named exclusions on appliance cover.

It is not a quick exit either. The agreement runs monthly, but the moment you use a service you enter a 12 month agreement period, and leaving early means paying the remaining months or 75% of the outstanding balance. The 14 day cooling-off period becomes void once we carry out a service at your request.

Still think a plan makes sense? Then it probably does

If what worries you is still on the covered side of that list, boiler and central heating cover pays parts and labour up to £500 in a 12 month period for a boiler under 7 years old, or £200 for one over 7, and you pick only the modules you want. We work with a national network of thousands of Gas Safe registered engineers, we aim to get an engineer out to you within two working days, and call-outs run Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00. The £95 call-out fee applies as set out above, and using a service starts a 12 month agreement period. It is a service plan, not insurance, from UK Boiler Company Ltd, trading since 2014. Not sure your set-up qualifies? Tell us what you have.

Boiler cover exclusions: your questions

Read next

• Boiler & central heating cover: what is included
• Book a one-off boiler repair
• How to compare boiler cover like for like
• Boiler cover for older boilers
• What a boiler warranty does not cover
• Ask us whether your set-up is covered
• Smart Plan cover plan terms and conditions (PDF)
• HSE: landlords' gas safety responsibilities
• HSE: domestic gas safety
• Gas Safe Register