C'mon, give cm a break! You guys are being a bit hard on him.
No one is forcing these customers to pay for BG's (or any other company's) services. They choose to pay a monthly fee for the peace of mind of being able to call out an engineer to sort a fault (be it CH or plumbing or appliance or electrical repairs etc). From what I've heard, BG have just improved their breakdown services by adding extra cover with no increase in fees. From looking myself into the likes of Homeserve, I have to say I think BG offer one of the most comprehensive of this type of service.
Look at the exclusions to Homeserve's electrical breakdown service for example:
Electrical Emergency and Breakdown Cover Exclusions
a. wiring and electrics which are not permanent;
b. wiring and electrics within sheds, greenhouses and other nonpermanent
garden structures;
c. wiring and electrics which are situated outside or mounted on
the external surface of any building, with the exception of wiring to
permanent security lighting and security lights or garden lighting
mounted on the main dwelling (excluding detached garages and
outbuildings);
d. the replacement of light bulbs, decorative and fluorescent tube light
fittings, fuses in plugs, transformers controlling single low voltage light
fittings, or any other routine electrical maintenance tasks;
e. electrics which are connected to a pump to a swimming pool, pond,
water feature or fish tank, whether inside or outside the property;
f. wiring or anything connected to satellite dishes, radio and television
aerials, their fittings and masts;
g. control wiring of burglar alarms, telephone wiring, smoke detectors,
doorbells, electrical garage door systems and electrical gates;
h. domestic electrical appliances with a plug, shower units, portable
and fixed heating or energy efficiency management systems;
i. immersion heaters, with the exception of the permanent wiring to
the immersion heater, which is covered;
j. power generation systems including solar panels, wind turbines,
air conditioning units and combined heat and power systems and
associated controls;
k. any 3-phase electrical systems (including wiring, sockets and
switches);
l. any part of the domestic electrical wiring which is too difficult to
access safely, or is impossible or impractical to maintain because of its
position;
m. any adjustment required to the timing and temperature controls of
heaters or Economy 7 timer switches;
n. any delays caused by our suppliers or their agents in obtaining
spare parts that are not immediately available;
o. repair or replacement costs if our contractor is unable to repair the
domestic electrical wiring due to its age or poor condition;
p. the resetting of circuit breakers, where it is not associated with
permanent repair work and where it can be reset by you;
q. garden areas;
r. any loss in the event of damage occurring where the property has
remained unoccupied for 60 or more consecutive days;
s. any fixtures including wiring and earthing where its replacement
is only necessary as a result of changes in legislation or health and
safety guidelines;
t. systems / equipment which have not been installed, serviced
or maintained in accordance with established practice, British
Standards or manufacturer’s instructions;
u. loss or damage arising as a result of disconnection from or
interruption to the gas, electricity or water mains services to the
property;
v. any defect, loss or damage occasioned by fire, lightning, explosion,
tempest, flood, earthquake, impact or other extraneous causes;
w. any wiring or electrics in communal areas;
General Exclusions:
1. The following are also excluded from cover and therefore IPA will not
be liable for any of the following:
a. any item not forming part of the policy coverage as detailed in
‘What is Covered?’;
b. any event, loss or damage arising from circumstances known to
you before the insurance began;
c. the replacement of items or parts that wear out as a consequence
of natural wear and tear over time, gradual deterioration or corrosion,
unless stated under ‘What is Covered’;
d. normal day-to-day maintenance of the insured elements covered
by your policy at your property, for which you are responsible;
e. damage caused to the property and/or its contents whilst dealing
with a claim will not be reinstated to the original condition. The
engineer will advise if any damage is likely to occur;
f. any defect, damage or breakdown caused by malicious or wilful
action, negligence or misuse;
g. any defect, damage, emergency or breakdown resulting from third
party interference;
h. any attempted repair or modification to the elements covered by
this policy, which does not comply with recognised industry standards;
i. any losses that are indirectly associated with the incident that
caused you to claim, unless caused by our negligence or that of our
agents. For example, loss of earnings due to time taken off work to
deal with the incident will not be covered;
j. costs incurred where you have been informed of the need to
complete permanent repairs, remedial work or maintenance to
prevent a future incident or emergency. Such work will need to be
carried out at your expense;
k. the costs of any work carried out by you or contractors not
authorised by us in advance;
l. any situation where a specialist contractor is required, e.g. where
asbestos is present;
m. any costs above the claims limit(s) detailed under ‘What is
Covered?’ You are responsible for agreeing and settling these costs
directly with the engineer;
n. any investigative work (such as CCTV), where the incident which
caused you to claim has been resolved;
o. the like for like replacement of parts and/or fittings necessary
to remedying or repairing the incident or emergency, unless an
alternative is supplied by you at the time of our contractor’s visit;
p. the restoration of any internal fixtures or fittings (e.g. fitted units,
special floor coverings such as wood block or ceramic tiles etc.)
removed in the process of dealing with the claim;
q. any loss arising from subsidence, heave of the site or landslip
caused by:
- bedding down of new structures;
- demolition or structural repairs or alterations to the property;
- faulty workmanship or the use of defective materials;
- river or coastal erosion;
r. any loss or damage arising as a consequence of:s. any fixtures including wiring and earthing where its replacement
is only necessary as a result of changes in legislation or health and
safety guidelines;
t. systems / equipment which have not been installed, serviced
or maintained in accordance with established practice, British
Standards or manufacturer’s instructions;
u. loss or damage arising as a result of disconnection from or
interruption to the gas, electricity or water mains services to the
property;
v. any defect, loss or damage occasioned by fire, lightning, explosion,
tempest, flood, earthquake, impact or other extraneous causes;
w. any wiring or electrics in communal areas;
General Exclusions:
1. The following are also excluded from cover and therefore IPA will not
be liable for any of the following:
a. any item not forming part of the policy coverage as detailed in
‘What is Covered?’;
b. any event, loss or damage arising from circumstances known to
you before the insurance began;
c. the replacement of items or parts that wear out as a consequence
of natural wear and tear over time, gradual deterioration or corrosion,
unless stated under ‘What is Covered’;
d. normal day-to-day maintenance of the insured elements covered
by your policy at your property, for which you are responsible;
e. damage caused to the property and/or its contents whilst dealing
with a claim will not be reinstated to the original condition. The
engineer will advise if any damage is likely to occur;
f. any defect, damage or breakdown caused by malicious or wilful
action, negligence or misuse;
g. any defect, damage, emergency or breakdown resulting from third
party interference;
h. any attempted repair or modification to the elements covered by
this policy, which does not comply with recognised industry standards;
i. any losses that are indirectly associated with the incident that
caused you to claim, unless caused by our negligence or that of our
agents. For example, loss of earnings due to time taken off work to
deal with the incident will not be covered;
j. costs incurred where you have been informed of the need to
complete permanent repairs, remedial work or maintenance to
prevent a future incident or emergency. Such work will need to be
carried out at your expense;
k. the costs of any work carried out by you or contractors not
authorised by us in advance;
l. any situation where a specialist contractor is required, e.g. where
asbestos is present;
m. any costs above the claims limit(s) detailed under ‘What is
Covered?’ You are responsible for agreeing and settling these costs
directly with the engineer;
n. any investigative work (such as CCTV), where the incident which
caused you to claim has been resolved;
o. the like for like replacement of parts and/or fittings necessary
to remedying or repairing the incident or emergency, unless an
alternative is supplied by you at the time of our contractor’s visit;
p. the restoration of any internal fixtures or fittings (e.g. fitted units,
special floor coverings such as wood block or ceramic tiles etc.)
removed in the process of dealing with the claim;
q. any loss arising from subsidence, heave of the site or landslip
caused by:
- bedding down of new structures;
- demolition or structural repairs or alterations to the property;
- faulty workmanship or the use of defective materials;
- river or coastal erosion;
r. any loss or damage arising as a consequence of:
- war, invasion, act of foreign enemies, terrorism, hostilities
(whether war is declared or not), civil war, rebellion, revolution,
insurrection, coup, riot or civil disturbance;
- ionising radiation or contamination by radioactivity from any
nuclear fuel or from any nuclear waste from combustion of
nuclear fuel, the radioactive toxic explosive or other hazardous
properties of any explosive nuclear assembly or its nuclear
component.
What does that leave?
