Sitting around in a freezing cold house without any hot water can be a nightmare, so it is certainly worth thinking about some kind of maintenance plan. There are a lot of energy providers offering this kind of service, such as British Gas and EDF Energy. What's more each company are offering different levels of service, dependant on how much you wish to spend, or think your home needs covering. Most of these service plans start with the basic protection of the gas boiler, but can be extended to cover other heating related applications such as plumbing, insulation, and so on.

The most basic home care product is going to simply cover your gas boiler and controls. As an example British Gas Homecare 100 provides this simple, expert care for your boiler. As well as entitling you to an annual boiler service to ensure everything's as it should be, you will have access to a 24/7 customer helpline manned day and night - far better than having to speak to an answering machine. You will be able to phone, and receive a call-out, as often as you like. In other words that isn't a fixed number of times that you can call the engineers out in one year, should your new gas boiler breakdown once too often.

The monthly fee, in case of British Gas Homecare 100, is from £13 months. This price includes parts and labour, meaning that you won't be hit with a huge bill should things go wrong at an inopportune moment, often in the middle of winter, when you could do with saving your money for extra heating. Also, should the entire boiler blow you won't be forking out a small fortune for a new one. What's more care plans from the larger operators tend to offer highly experienced engineers with many repairs under their belts. They are also highly qualified, with the most up-to-date training available. All of the engineers will also be CORGI registered. Larger companies invest a great deal of time and money in making sure that their engineers are amongst the most highly trained in the business.

British Gas themselves have created 13 academies that deliver award winning training to their staff. For extra safety in the home a great number of gas boiler engineers can now provide expert advice on your existing boilers. They are able to suggest ways to make your boiler safer, or, should you wish, will be able to recommend new units. A lot of these companies provide yearly Safety and Maintenance Inspections, to make sure that everything is running smooth and effectively.

And this is just the basic cover. There are some more comprehensive homecare insurance packages available that go way beyond the basic boiler maintenance and repair. Some cover your radiators, pipe work, and hot water supply. More advanced packages even cover you electrical wirings and fixtures. In fact the most advanced offer compete maintenance and repair for every household system you rely on.