4

HomeCare tiers

HomeCare 1 to 4

24/7

Helpline

0333 009 5784

0

Excess option

Or £60 to lower the premium

Annual

Boiler service

Included in every tier

What is British Gas HomeCare?

British Gas HomeCare is a domestic boiler and central heating cover plan operated by British Gas Trading Limited. It bundles an annual boiler service, breakdown repairs, parts and labour, and a 24/7 customer helpline into a single monthly direct debit. HomeCare is regulated as an insurance product (FCA-authorised), so it sits alongside, not inside, your energy contract.

The cover comes in four progressive tiers:

  • HomeCare 1 - boiler and controls only
  • HomeCare 2 - HomeCare 1 plus central heating system (radiators, pipes, valves)
  • HomeCare 3 - HomeCare 2 plus plumbing & drains
  • HomeCare 4 - HomeCare 3 plus home electrics

All four tiers include a free annual boiler service, unlimited call-outs and a 24/7 helpline. You can pick a zero excess (premium is higher) or a £60 excess per claim (premium is lower). Prices vary by postcode because labour rates and boiler-park composition differ across the UK.

Your first British Gas HomeCare claim is normally blocked for 14 days from the start date. New boilers also have to pass an initial inspection visit before breakdown cover kicks in. Plan accordingly if you are switching from another provider.

How HomeCare cover starts, step by step

From sign-up to first claim, here is the full timeline at British Gas:

1

Sign up

Pick a tier (1-4) and excess (£0 or £60) on britishgas.co.uk or call 0333 009 5784. Set up monthly direct debit or annual lump-sum.

2

Inspection visit

A Gas Safe engineer visits to check the boiler is on the approved list and that nothing pre-existing is wrong. Always free for new policies.

3

14-day waiting period

Cover is live for the annual service, but breakdown claims are blocked for the first 14 days. Auto-applied, no action needed.

4

Make a claim

Call 0333 009 5784 any time of day or night. Unlimited call-outs ; parts and labour included ; pay your excess if you chose the £60 option.

HomeCare pricing in 2026

British Gas does not publish a single national HomeCare price - your final quote depends on your postcode, boiler age and chosen excess. The figures below are the indicative direct-debit starting prices at the time of writing (August 2026) with a £60 excess. For an exact quote, get a personalised price on britishgas.co.uk or call 0333 009 5784.

Boiler only

HomeCare 1

£24 /mo

or £28/mo with no excess

  • Annual boiler service
  • Boiler & controls breakdown
  • Parts & labour included
  • 24/7 helpline
Get a quote →
Most picked

Boiler + heating

HomeCare 2

£30 /mo

or £35/mo with no excess

  • Everything in HomeCare 1
  • Radiators & pipes
  • Hot-water cylinder
  • Thermostatic valves
Get a quote →

Heating + plumbing

HomeCare 3

£38 /mo

or £44/mo with no excess

  • Everything in HomeCare 2
  • Internal plumbing
  • Internal drains
  • Cold-water tank
Get a quote →

All-in

HomeCare 4

£45 /mo

or £52/mo with no excess

  • Everything in HomeCare 3
  • Mains wiring
  • Consumer unit
  • Sockets & light switches
Get a quote →

Indicative prices, August 2026. Quotes vary by postcode and are subject to a pre-cover inspection if your boiler is more than seven years old. Source: britishgas.co.uk.

Not sure HomeCare is the cheapest fix?

Compare British Gas energy tariffs first - some bundle annual servicing into the unit rate.

See BG tariffs

What is covered, tier by tier

Every HomeCare tier includes an annual boiler service, unlimited breakdown call-outs and a 24/7 helpline. The table below summarises what each tier adds. Some items have explicit exclusions - see the next section.

British Gas HomeCare coverage matrix
Feature HomeCare 1 HomeCare 2 HomeCare 3 HomeCare 4
Annual boiler service✓✓✓✓
Boiler & controls breakdown repair✓✓✓✓
Central heating system (radiators, pipes, valves)×✓✓✓
Plumbing & internal drains××✓✓
Home electrics (wiring, fuse box, sockets)×××✓
Unlimited call-outs, parts & labour✓✓✓✓
24/7 helpline (0333 009 5784)✓✓✓✓

Boilers and heaters

Annual boiler service: included in all four tiers. The engineer checks gas pressure, flues and seals; cleans parts if needed; and runs a carbon-monoxide and leak check. You can buy a stand-alone service without HomeCare, but separate repairs are charged at full rate.

Boiler & controls breakdown: included in all four tiers. Covers the boiler unit, programmer and thermostat. Boiler-only cover is also sold as a stand-alone insurance product if you do not want the full HomeCare bundle.

Central heating breakdown: included in HomeCare 2, 3 and 4. Covers radiators, hot-water cylinders, immersion heaters, central-heating pipes and thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs).

Plumbing and drains

Plumbing & drains cover is included in HomeCare 3 and 4. It covers cold-water tanks, overflows, internal pipework and rainwater drains. A separate stand-alone repair (no contract) is available too, at from £90 for drains and from £85 for plumbing.

Home electrics

Only HomeCare 4 includes home electrics: mains wiring, the consumer unit, sockets, light switches, mains-connected smoke detectors, doorbells and mains-connected extractor fans. Stand-alone Home Electrical cover is available from around £5/mo without the boiler tier.

Appliance cover (sold separately)

British Gas also sells Appliance Cover for gas and kitchen appliances. Pricing is based on the number of appliances covered. For gas appliances (gas cooker, fire, hob, oven, water heater, wall heater) you get an annual service, repairs and like-for-like replacement when the appliance cannot be fixed.

For kitchen appliances (dishwasher, washing machine, fridge-freezer, microwave and similar), repairs and accidental damage are included, but replacement is only automatic for appliances under three years old. For older items, British Gas contributes 30% of the cost of a new replacement when a repair is not possible.

What is not covered

The fine print is where HomeCare loses some of its appeal. Read the IPID (Insurance Product Information Document) before signing - here are the headline exclusions you should be aware of.

General exclusions

  • Pre-existing faults found during the initial inspection visit ;
  • The first 14 days from the policy start date (no claim accepted) ;
  • Existing scale and sludge build-up, and any damage caused by limescale ;
  • Repairs caused by misuse, neglect or third-party tampering ;
  • Boilers not on the British Gas approved list (your engineer will tell you on inspection) ;
  • Boiler-design or manufacturer faults ;
  • Cosmetic damage to radiators, pipework or appliances ;
  • Replacing flues, smart-thermostat hardware or shower parts.

Plumbing & drains exclusions (HomeCare 3 and 4)

  • Shared drains (drains used by more than one property) ;
  • Guttering and rainwater downpipes outside the property ;
  • Water softeners and filters ;
  • Water meters and water-pressure-boosting equipment ;
  • Drain cleaning unrelated to a blockage ;
  • Plumbing in detached outbuildings.

Home electrics exclusions (HomeCare 4)

  • Domestic appliances, burglar alarms and CCTV camera systems ;
  • Full property rewires ;
  • Electric showers ;
  • Power supply cables to outbuildings ;
  • The incoming supply cable up to the consumer unit (this is the DNO's responsibility).

Should you take out HomeCare?

Boiler cover is essentially insurance against a low-probability, high-cost event. Which?'s long-running survey puts the average annual cost of a comprehensive boiler-cover policy at around £330-£400 in 2026. A stand-alone annual service costs roughly £99-£120; a one-off boiler-replacement quote sits between £2,000 and £4,500 depending on the property.

Advantages

  • Annual service included in every tier
  • 24/7 helpline staffed all year round, including bank holidays
  • Unlimited call-outs and no per-claim labour cap
  • British Gas engineers are Gas Safe registered and salaried, not subcontracted
  • Cover can be paid by direct debit, smoothing the cost across the year

Disadvantages

  • Pre-existing faults found at the inspection are excluded forever
  • First 14 days from the start date are an automatic dead zone
  • Auto-renewal pricing can drift well above the joiner rate
  • Boiler design faults and limescale damage are explicitly excluded
  • Stand-alone services and one-off repairs can be cheaper for newer boilers

Take it out if you are risk-averse, have an older boiler (say 7+ years) and value a single 24/7 helpline that owns the whole problem. Skip it if your boiler is under warranty (manufacturer cover is typically 7-10 years on new Worcester Bosch and Vaillant units), or if you have a tradesperson you already trust for emergency call-outs.

HomeCare for landlords

As a UK landlord you are legally required to arrange an annual Gas Safety Inspection (CP12) and, since 2020, an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) every five years. British Gas Landlord HomeCare bundles both legal certificates with the standard four HomeCare tiers - more expensive than the equivalent domestic plan, but you save on the cost of arranging separate inspections.

If you do not want a full plan, British Gas sells stand-alone landlord certificates:

British Gas stand-alone landlord inspection prices in 2026
InspectionFrom price (2026)
Annual Gas Safety Certificate (CP12)From £110
Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), 5-yearlyFrom £240

HomeCare for businesses

British Gas Business Care applies the same logic to commercial premises - one annual service, unlimited call-outs and a 24/7 helpline - with response times graded by the tier.

British Gas Business Care plans
Plan From price No-heat / no-hot-water response Parts & labour
Business Care Core From £19/mo + VAT Next working day £50 excess per claim, labour unlimited
Business Care Essential From £26/mo + VAT Next working day Unlimited
Business Care Plus From £32/mo + VAT 24 hours, including evenings and weekends Unlimited

Indicative prices, August 2026. For an exact business quote, call 0333 414 5188 (Mon-Fri, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) or see our British Gas Business guide.

How to contact British Gas HomeCare

If you can smell gas or suspect a leak, leave the property and call the National Gas Emergency line on 0800 111 999 first. This is not a British Gas number - it serves every gas supplier in Great Britain, free, 24/7.

British Gas HomeCare contact channels
ChannelDetailsOpening hours
HomeCare helpline0333 009 578424/7
New HomeCare policies0113 298 0900 (Option 2)Mon-Fri, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Email[email protected]Reply within 5 working days
Postal addressBritish Gas, PO Box 227, Rotherham, S98 1PDFor complaints in writing
Gas Emergency line0800 111 99924/7, free, all UK suppliers

For other British Gas queries (billing, meter readings, moving home, complaints), see our dedicated British Gas contact page.

Moving home with HomeCare

You can transfer your HomeCare policy to a new property by calling the helpline. British Gas will normally book an inspection visit at the new address to confirm the boiler meets HomeCare's approved-boiler criteria. If the new boiler fails the inspection, cover does not start until the issue is fixed.

How to make a complaint

Call the helpline first, then escalate in writing to the address above if the issue is not resolved. After eight weeks, or if British Gas issues a deadlock letter sooner, you can take the case free of charge to the Energy Ombudsman (for HomeCare-related energy issues) or to the Financial Ombudsman Service (because HomeCare is an FCA-regulated insurance product).

British Gas HomeCare - frequently asked questions

Pricing depends on your postcode, boiler age and chosen excess. As an indication in August 2026, HomeCare 1 starts from around £24/mo with a £60 excess (or £28/mo with zero excess). HomeCare 4 starts from around £45/mo. Get a personalised price on britishgas.co.uk or call 0333 009 5784.

No. HomeCare is sold as a stand-alone product. You can take it out even if your gas and electricity are supplied by another company. It is, however, a British Gas product, so British Gas engineers handle the work.

The contract begins on the start date, but breakdown claims are blocked for the first 14 days. For new policies, an initial inspection visit also has to be completed and passed before any repair work is covered. Annual servicing follows the standard British Gas booking window.

Yes. An annual gas-pressure, flue and carbon-monoxide check is included in HomeCare 1, 2, 3 and 4 at no extra cost. The same service costs around £99-£120 as a stand-alone booking.

Common exclusions: pre-existing faults flagged at inspection, limescale damage, sludge build-up, design faults in the boiler, swimming-pool plumbing, shared drains, gutters, full property rewires, electric showers, and the incoming supply cable to your fuse box. Read the IPID before signing.

Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade at any time by calling 0333 009 5784. Upgrades take effect immediately (subject to a 14-day waiting period on the newly added cover). Downgrades take effect at the next billing cycle.

Yes. The policy renews each year on the anniversary date at the prevailing renewal price - which is often higher than the new-customer joiner rate. British Gas writes to you about 28 days before renewal. You can cancel at renewal without an exit fee.

Yes. All British Gas engineers are salaried employees on the Gas Safe Register (the legal successor to CORGI). They carry photo ID; never let anyone work on your gas appliances without checking their Gas Safe card.

Ready to take out HomeCare?

Get a personalised quote, change tier or make a claim - one number, 24/7.

Call 0333 009 5784 Other ways to contact

Further reading on British Gas

The services and products mentioned on this website may only represent a small selection of the options available to you. Selectra encourages you to carry out your own research and seek advice if necessary before making any decisions. We may receive commission from selected partner providers on sales of some products and/or services mentioned within this website. Our website is free to use, and the commission we receive does not affect our opinion or the information we provide.