Ideal Boiler Cover: Worth The Cost?

In this guide, we’ll explain the types of boiler cover and insurance available for Ideal boilers. 

Ideal Boiler Cover Vs A Long Warranty

Boiler cover is a huge industry in the UK. But is it actually worth the cash? 

Boiler care plans can cost up to £500 per year, but many plans are void if your boiler is outside of its manufacturer’s warranty. Effectively, it’s the boiler manufacturer that is footing the bill for the repairs, rather than the company that offers your insurance. 

Our advice? Focus on picking a boiler with a long warranty that includes both a parts and labour guarantee… 

Ideal boilers come with a guarantee of up to 12-years (Vogue Max boiler)... 

As long as you comply with their basic terms and conditions (register your product, get an annual boiler service and always use a Gas Safe engineer), they’ll cover parts and labour for both mechanical and electrical faults. 

A warranty covering these breakdowns could save you £100s when it comes to the repair or replacement of your boiler’s parts!

Find out which Ideal boiler with a long warranty is most suited to your property by using our clickable boiler configuration tool here. Our tool takes less than 2-minutes to complete and you’ll get fixed prices on-screen.

What A Does Ideal Boiler Cover Plan Include?

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The typical Ideal boiler cover plan won't cover as much as you might think. 

At the most basic level, you will get an annual boiler service and cover for any issues with your heating controls. 

The cost? Expect to pay anywhere from £7.50-£15 per month (£90-£180 per year).

The cost of a boiler service is generally in the region of £100 including VAT, so the majority of basic boiler insurance plans don't really provide much value. 

Ideal boiler care plans that cover you for issues with both your boiler and central heating system are likely to be in the region of £20-30 per month (a substantial £240-£360 per year).

However, it's worth noting that the majority of boiler cover plans are subject to a call out fee. After a bit of digging, we found that typical call out fees were between £60-£100. 

To decide if insurance is worth it, you’ll need to factor in this call out fee (or pay more on a monthly basis for a care plan that has the call out fee included).

Instead of paying big annual fees for boiler insurance, the better option is to get a boiler that’s got a long warranty (7-years or longer). 

Get prices on Ideal boilers with a 7+ year warranty by using our clickable boiler installation tool here. 

The Cost of Boiler Cover & Insurance

Whilst boiler care is important, the balance of cost versus what you’re actually getting is rarely worth it. 

Like most insurance plans, a lot of repairs that are of reasonable value are likely to be excluded. 

As an example, the replacement of parts and labour costs for fitting those parts may be outside of a boiler cover plan, if your boiler is no longer under manufacturer’s warranty. 

And, this could mean even with insurance for your Ideal boiler, you’re footing a repair bill that spans into the £100s. 

Below are a few cost estimates for boiler repairs: 

• Gas valve: £250-£300
• Fan: £250-£300
• Heat exchanger: £400
• Printed circuit board: £400-£500

…not cheap!

Our installations include a 12-month workmanship warranty, as well as up to 12-years guarantee (Ideal Vogue Max). 

Get prices on-screen for your new Ideal boiler (inclusive of a long warranty) here.

Boiler Service Cost

If you’ve decided to go ahead and buy cover for your Ideal boiler, it’s worth ensuring that the care plan includes an annual boiler service. Simply because, an annual boiler service is worth £100+ (including VAT). And, most manufacturers require you to have an annual boiler service completed by a Gas Safe engineer to comply with their warranty terms.

You’ll find boiler cover plans from as little as £120 per year, up to around £500 a year. If that plan includes an annual boiler service, even if your heating system doesn’t have any issues, you’re receiving at least some value. 

However, our advice would be to first, ensure you pick a boiler with a long warranty. 

Ideal has a huge range of combi, system and heat-only boilers. And the majority of them come with a long parts and labour warranty. 

Put simply, their parts and labour warranty is likely to cover more than an annual boiler cover plan, and is included in the cost of your new boiler. 

What Does Ideal’s Boiler Warranty Include?

We’ve written a detailed review of Ideal boilers here. There, you’ll be able to see not only the different models of combi, system and heat-only boilers available, but the warranty length of each boiler. 

As an example, their mid-range combi boiler (Ideal Logic Plus) comes with a 7-year warranty as standard, but 10-years on the heat exchanger. 

Their Logic Max boiler comes with a massive 10-year guarantee as standard. 

However, if you're looking for the biggest warranty possible, you'll want to head for the Vogue Max. You'll get a market leading 12-year warranty!

Ideal's boiler warranty covers any deficiency within the boiler itself, both mechanical and electrical. But, it won't cover problems with your heating system, such as pipework. 

In the event of a breakdown, Ideal Heating will either repair or replace the part, free of charge. 

However, it is worth noting that you'll need to do a few things to ensure your warranty isn't void: 

In summary, with Ideal offering such extensive warranties, we’d choose one of their units with 7+ years guarantee rather than forking out £100s per year on sub-par insurance plans.

The upfront cost is likely to be £100-£200 more than a lesser known brand with a small 2-5 year guarantee, but this small extra upfront cost certainly beats paying £120+ per year on a boiler cover plan for the next decade!

Read more about Ideal's warranty and the terms and conditions of their cover here. 

Or, see their warranty FAQ by clicking here. 

And to see what Ideal boilers cost with a long warranty, use our boiler configuration tool here. 

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