Understanding your HomeCare excess

What is an excess?

An excess is a charge that we ask you to pay towards any claim that you make if you hold one of our insurance products, such as Homecare One. You can choose the amount of excess you will pay when signing up - the higher the amount of your excess, the lower the yearly cost of your product.

Do I have to pay an excess every time I make a claim?

You will only need to make a payment for each new claim. All of our repairs and parts are guaranteed for 12 months. So on the rare occasion we have to re-visit and re-do work already completed within the last year, you won’t be charged. Let’s break it down - if an engineer came to fix a broken heat pump in your boiler in July 2020, and was then called out again in November 2020 for the same issue, you wouldn't need to pay an excess. However, if the engineer also came in August 2020 to fix the condensation pipe, you would need to pay an excess, as this is a different issue.

I had my boiler fixed three months ago and it’s not working again today, will I have to pay again?

This depends on whether the engineer verifies if this is a new fault or the same as the one previously fixed. There are lots of parts in boilers and one fix will not cover everything. Once the engineer has visited your property and checked your appliance, they’ll be able to confirm if you need to make another payment.

How much will I need to pay?

You will need to pay the full excess amount. If you have opted for a £60 excess, then you will need to pay £60 for every completed new repair.

The engineer was in my property already doing my annual service, why do I have to pay for a fault they identified during this visit?

The annual service visit is a safety check. Any faults identified during the visit are subject to the excess fee that you have agreed for your product.

The job was completed quickly, do I still need to pay an excess?

Yes, the excess is charged for each new claim on the policy and isn’t related to the time taken to complete the repair.

Why do you take payment before the job?

We check the validity of your card when we book your appointment, but we don't take payment then. The excess amount will be taken after the repair is complete. If the job is a recall and fixing a fault is covered by the 12-month guarantee, the engineer will agree this with you and update our system to make sure you aren’t charged twice.