Get 1-to-1 money guidance
Which? Money members can get impartial guidance from our experts, based on 350 years’ combined financial services experience.
Find out more'My boiler cover has left me cold'
Every week we help you with your money problems
In July 2024, I made a claim with Domestic & General (D&G) to repair my boiler.
D&G said the boiler was beyond economical repair and offered a £750 voucher towards a new one, which would cost £2,000.
The engineer who checked my boiler said I don’t need a new one as he can repair the existing one for £400, but D&G won’t budge. Can you help?
Jacob from Bury
'This is one reason we have doubts about appliance insurance'
Bill Wilkinson-Hoy, Which? Money expert, says...
You’ve shown why it’s worth questioning an insurer’s decision that doesn’t make sense.
After contacting us, you took your D&G complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, at which point, D&G offered you £140 as a goodwill gesture.
It then emerged that D&G is signed up to a different dispute mediation service, called Flexible Resolution Services, to which your complaint was redirected.
It investigated your complaint and awarded you £228. This, along with the original £140, covered much of the cost of repairs.
The relatively low cost of many appliances means it’s possible to self-insure
Disputes over whether an insured asset is written off – for example, it’s more expensive to repair than it’s worth – aren’t restricted to appliance insurance and also crop up with car insurance.
However, we think appliance insurance is a much less necessary product.
Unlike car insurance, where a replacement costs several thousand pounds, the relatively low cost of many appliances means it’s possible to self-insure by gradually adding money to an emergency fund (ideally an instant-access savings account).
Even with boilers, our survey of homeowners indicated that saving up for repairs if you need them is likely to work out cheaper than boiler cover.
That way, you can make the decision over whether to repair or replace – without involving call centres or complaints handlers.
- Find out more: why you probably don't need boiler cover
Which? Money 1-to-1 guidance
Our team of money experts can answer your questions big and small, on topics from pensions to tax and savings to scams.
They're impartial so they don’t give regulated financial advice or recommend particular products or providers – they’re here to support you and to help you make more confident financial decisions in these areas and more:
Which? Money members and their immediate family get unlimited access to 1-to-1 guidance sessions.
If you're a Which? Money member, you can book an appointment online. If you're not, you can find out more about membership.
