You arrive home to find lights flashing and water spurting out of your washing machine. Could you afford to live without it? Home appliance insurance protects all of your brown and white goods against accidental damage and mechanical or electrical breakdown.

Do I need home appliances insurance?

If a new appliance breaks down within the first 12 months, you benefit from the manufacturer's guarantee, so you shouldn’t have to pay for any repairs or replacement. But if a fault occurs after the first year, your manufacturer’s warranty won’t cover the cost.

Some people choose not to pay for extended warranties or appliance insurance as policies can be over-priced. However, to go without can be costly as bills can mount up if you need to repair a household appliance, especially when you consider call-out or labour fees and costs for parts.

When looking for a new home appliance insurance policy, make sure to check the following:

1. How many appliances can be covered under a single policy?

Choosing the correct level and type of cover is just as important as the price when it comes to choosing home appliance insurance. You should compare levels of cover and check the things you’re not insured for. Whatever you do, don’t make assumptions about what is included, as for some insurance companies, certain areas of coverage may be optional extras.

1. What is the maximum amount covered?

When taking out a new home appliance insurance policy, it is important to find out the maximum amount that would be covered in the event of a claim. If your item was damaged, would the maximum amount cover the cost of repair or replace?

2. What is the monthly cost?

You should always check the monthly cost of your insurance to ensure you can keep up with payments. If you fail to do this, your cover will become void and you will end up paying to repair faults.

Some companies offer discounts for online applications, as well as a reduction if you pay for your premium annually. You might also want to consider combining cover for more than one appliance rather than taking out separate policies.

For example, dishwasher insurance cover and washing machine insurance may be expensive if you take it out separately but by combining the two onto one policy you could hack a chunk off your premium.

3. What is the limit per claim?

All policies have set limits for how much you can claim at any one time, and how many times you can claim over the period of cover. It is important to check this as you don’t want to risk not being able to claim within a close period, should you suffer a malfunction again.

For smaller claims, you might want to think about the impact claiming might have and whether it’s financially worth going through with it.

4. What is the customer services like?

A good insurance company provides immediate advice and assistance, and should handle your claim smoothly, efficiently and swiftly, providing they have all the information they need.

From your point of view as the insured, knowing the best way kick-start a claim and assist your insurer in the claim process goes a long way to ensuring the best outcome for you.

As you can see, there are lots of things to look out for when renewing or buying a new home appliance insurance policy. For further information, take a look at our home appliance insurance page to help choose your policy.