Is my Insurance Void With no Boiler Service? Information, tips and advice on all aspects of home and buildings insurance

[Jordan8710]

Hi,
4 months ago I had an escape of water in my loft from a boiler which we had fitted when I moved in circa 4 years ago.
The leak wasn't bad but as we were on holiday at the time the extent of the damage ended up coming to around £8000 for building and contents.

The insurance company eventually paid out a couple of weeks ago which was great but now we've had a letter from another solicitor saying that they are looking "recover the costs from anyone who may be responsible". They are asking for the details of who fitted the boiler, and for the boiler service history among other questions.
The problem is I've never had the boiler serviced and I don't want to give them the details of the contractor that fitted it as he is a friend of the family and it might have been done "off the books".
Do you think they might have reason to void my claim and ask for their money back and also hit me with a huge bill for work that has already been done? Thanks

[diydoctor6]

I don't want to preach, but the moral of this story is get your boiler serviced regularly.

I fear if you ignore or avoid the letter your premium will go up considerably, as it no doubt has done anyway for making a claim.

[DaveyTed]

You can easily find out if the the boiler was installed "legitimately" by checking if the installation was notified to the local council as it should be. You may be able to find this information on the council's website.
It is now quite normal for insurance companies to attempt to pass the blame onto bad installation or maintenance.

[ericmark]

I think the chance of getting info off the council is zero, I came to sell my late mothers house, I had lost loads of things with mother putting them in the bin, so not surprised not to find the completion certificates, so I applied to council for replacement, to be told they are moving premises and so would not be available for 4 months, and the fee was £60 per hour for them to hunt for them, so much for freedom of information act and traceable records.

So can't find them seems to be answer, as to boiler service, mine has been in 40 years in last house, serviced once. This house oil boiler, so bi-annual service as needs jets changing or running costs go up, with open vented systems it is normal to service at every 5 years or when some thing goes wrong.

But with pressure vessels then your looking at different rules, these must be inspected annually, and who tests them often selected by the insurance company, I know at work we hired a loco as we had two stripped down, the loco we hired had just been re-built and tested, but our insurers would not accept that, and the lagging had to be removed for the inspector appointed by the insurer to inspect.

This is one reason I don't want MegaFlow tanks in my house, having them annually tested is a pain.

I had two water leaks at old house, seems there was a bit missed out of the shower head, and the pipe worked out, first time insurance did repairs without question, second time they found part missing and started to say it was recoverable, until pointed out they had done the work.

But if you need an annual service, then you will likely need to use some one the insurers select, likely Oftec, or GasSafe, depending on type of boiler, but although my boiler has been serviced, the plumber found the boiler guy, and I have not a clue how to contact him, or where any paperwork has gone, as far as I am concerned, I have paid him and so that is over with until next service.