Smart Plan vs British Gas HomeCare

What each one covers, what each one charges when you use it, and how to work out which is better value for your home.

The short answer

British Gas HomeCare is boiler and heating cover sold as insurance, with an annual service, repairs on covered items with no cap stated, and excess options British Gas says tend to be £0, £60 or £99. Smart Plan is a service plan, not insurance: you build cover from separate modules, pay only for the ones you pick, and each module has a cover limit.

One is a bundle with no stated cap on repair spend and an excess every time you use it. The other is pick-and-mix, with a cap on each module and a £95 call-out fee in four defined situations. Which wins depends on your boiler's age and how much of a bundle you would actually use.

British Gas figures here were checked against its boiler and heating cover page on 24 July 2026. British Gas changes prices and terms, so confirm the current ones on britishgas.co.uk before you decide.

The facts, before you read on

All taken from the two providers' own published terms.

British Gas describes its boiler and heating cover as insurance. Smart Plan is a service plan from UK Boiler Company Ltd, not insurance.
British Gas states no cap on repair spend for covered items, plus up to £1,000 including VAT per repair to gain access and make good. Smart Plan applies a cover limit per module, per 12-month period.
Both cover a boiler at any age, on different terms: British Gas replaces one it cannot repair only under 7 years old, and Smart Plan's boiler limit drops from £500 to £200 past 7 years.
British Gas offers a 12-month HomeCare contract. Smart Plan is monthly rolling, but a 12-month agreement period begins once you use a service.

Only figures each provider publishes appear here. Where one publishes nothing, the cell says so rather than guessing.

Side by side, on things you can check

What you are comparing	British Gas HomeCare	Smart Plan
What it is	Insurance, described by British Gas as boiler insurance	A service plan from UK Boiler Company Ltd, not insurance
How it is put together	Cover plus optional add-ons: plumbing and drains, home electrics, kitchen appliances, gas appliances	Seven modules: boiler and central heating, plumbing, drainage, electrical, appliances, pest control, home security
Cap on repair spend	No cap stated on covered repairs; up to £1,000 inc VAT per repair to gain access and make good	Up to £500 per 12-month period on most modules; boiler £500 under 7 years, £200 over 7; appliances £225 per appliance
What you pay when you use it	An excess on every completed repair. Options tend to be £0, £60 and £99; a higher excess lowers the monthly price	A £95 call-out fee, paid in advance, in four defined situations set out below
Annual boiler service	Included in the cover	Included in the boiler module. Requesting it inside the first 30 days triggers the £95 fee
Older boilers	Covered at any age if in good working order. Replacement only under 7 years old	Covered at any age, at the £200 limit once past 7 years old
Agreement length	A 12-month HomeCare contract. Cancel inside 14 days for a full refund minus charges for work completed	Monthly rolling until you use a service, then a 12-month agreement period. 14-day cooling-off, ended by a service
Example price published	Published on britishgas.co.uk, and the figure moves with the excess level you choose	None; your price comes from the modules you pick

What British Gas HomeCare includes

British Gas lists its boiler and heating cover as including repairs to your boiler, controls and the visible, accessible gas supply pipes, and to your gas central heating system including radiators, with no cap stated on covered repairs. Parts and labour, accidental damage, an annual boiler service, and up to £1,000 including VAT per repair to gain access and make good are included too. Boiler replacement is included where the boiler cannot be repaired and is under 7 years old.

The excess is the part people miss

British Gas charges an excess on every completed repair, and the level you pick changes your monthly price. In its own words, "Our excess options tend to be £0, £60 and £99", with a higher excess lowering the monthly figure. So a headline quote carrying a £60 excess is not the same product as a £0 excess quote, and the two are not comparable on the monthly figure alone. Check the current price on their own site, because it changes.

What British Gas says it does not cover

The published exclusions include pre-existing faults or design faults, system improvements or upgrades, and repairs that are purely cosmetic. Pre-existing faults are the common trip-up: cover taken out the week your boiler starts playing up will not fix that fault.

What a Smart Plan cover plan includes

Smart Plan works the other way round. There are seven modules: boiler and central heating, plumbing, drainage, electrical, appliances, pest control and home security. You start with the one that matters, usually the boiler, and leave out the rest. Parts and labour are included up to your cover limit on each module you have chosen, and repairs are carried out by a national network of thousands of Gas Safe registered engineers.

The cover limit

Your cover limit is the most Smart Plan will put towards covered repairs on that module in each 12-month period, and it applies only to the modules on your cover sheet. British Gas states no cap on repair spend for the items it covers, while Smart Plan caps each module. If one very expensive repair is your main worry, weigh that honestly.

The £95 call-out fee

A £95 call-out fee, paid in advance before an engineer attends, applies in four situations: during the first 30 days of a new agreement; where the issue falls under an exclusion; where our engineer cannot get access; and if you request your annual service within the first 30 days. Outside those four you are not paying a charge per repair, though anything above your module's cover limit is still down to you.

The agreement, said out loud

Smart Plan cover is monthly rolling. Once you use a service, a 12-month minimum agreement period begins. Leaving during that period costs the remaining monthly payments, or 75% of the outstanding balance as a one-off. There is a 14-day cooling-off period at sign-up, which ends if a service is carried out.

Call-outs run Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00, unless it is a genuine emergency breakdown. Within those hours we aim to get an engineer out to you within two working days. That is a target for getting someone to your door, not a promise the repair is finished. The limits below are per 12-month period, parts and labour included, on the modules listed on your cover sheet.

Smart Plan cover limits

Module	Cover limit per 12-month period
Boiler and central heating (under 7 years old)	Up to £500
Boiler and central heating (over 7 years old)	Up to £200
Plumbing	Up to £500
Drainage	Up to £500
Electrical	Up to £500
Home security	Up to £500
Pest control	Up to £500
Appliances	Up to £225 per appliance

How to work out which is better value for you

"Best value" is the answer to a sum about your house, not a property of a product. This works for any provider.

1. Add the excess back in, then test it against the cap

Work out the annual cost both ways: twelve monthly payments, plus the excess multiplied by the repairs you realistically expect. On a £99 excess, two repairs in a year adds £198. Then check the cap against your worst realistic repair: a £500 limit covers most common faults, such as a pump, a diverter valve or a fan, but not a full boiler replacement.

2. Look up your boiler's age first

Age changes what you can buy. British Gas replaces a boiler it cannot repair only if it is under 7 years old, and Smart Plan drops its boiler limit from £500 to £200 once the boiler passes 7 years. Past ten years old, the honest question may be whether the money is better going towards a replacement.

3. Count the modules you would genuinely use

A bundle only saves money if you would have bought the parts separately. Write down the things you would actually pick up the phone about, and price only those.

4. Check the annual service is really annual

The service is the part you are most likely to use every year. Whoever you buy from, check the wording commits to a service inside 12 months if you let the property, because a landlord's legal duty runs on a strict 12-month clock. Our landlord boiler cover and CP12 pages explain it.

Gas safety comes first

If you smell gas or suspect carbon monoxide, do not wait for any cover plan. Leave the property and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. Only a Gas Safe registered engineer may work on your boiler or gas appliances, and HSE advises having your appliance "regularly maintained and annually serviced by a Gas Safe registered engineer". Never attempt a gas repair yourself.

If you let the property, the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 put the duty on you. HSE states landlords must use a Gas Safe registered engineer, arrange an annual gas safety check, keep the record for 2 years and give each tenant a copy.

See what a Smart Plan looks like for your home

Pick the boiler and central heating module, add anything else you want, and you get your own price rather than a headline figure. Not sure whether cover or a new boiler is the better spend? Send us your details.

Ask us a question Build your plan 0333 772 6247

Smart Plan vs British Gas HomeCare: your questions

Is British Gas HomeCare insurance, and is Smart Plan?

British Gas describes its boiler and heating cover as boiler insurance on its own product page. Smart Plan is not insurance. It is a service plan from UK Boiler Company Ltd: a membership covering the modules you choose, with repairs up to your cover limit.

Is Smart Plan cheaper than British Gas HomeCare?

We cannot tell you that. Smart Plan is priced from the modules you pick, and British Gas prices depend on your home, your boiler and the excess you choose. The only like-for-like way to compare is a current quote from each, with the excess added back into the British Gas figure.

Does either plan cover an old boiler?

Both do, on different terms. British Gas states it covers boilers of any age in good working order, but will only replace one it cannot repair if that boiler is under 7 years old. Smart Plan covers a boiler at any age, at up to £500 per 12-month period under 7 years old and up to £200 over 7 years old.

How long am I tied in?

British Gas offers a 12-month HomeCare contract, and states that cancelling within the first 14 days gets a full refund minus charges for work completed. Smart Plan is monthly rolling, but once you use a service a 12-month agreement period begins; leaving during it costs the remaining monthly payments or 75% of the outstanding balance as a one-off.

Can I switch to Smart Plan and cover only the boiler?

Yes. Take the boiler and central heating module on its own and add others later if you want them. If you are leaving an existing plan, check its cancellation terms first, and remember your new cover has its own first-30-days call-out fee window.

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