The drain blocks on a Sunday evening, the lock clicks shut and you're stuck outside, a storm rips open the roof – these aren't always major claims, but they do call for immediate help. That's what home assistance is for: an emergency tradesperson arranged by the insurer. It's a genuinely useful service – if you know what it's for, and what it isn't.
- Home assistance is an emergency call-out service: typically covering drain clearing, lockout assistance, glazing, temporary roof covering, and quick plumber or electrician help.
- It works within limits: a set number of call-outs per year and a per-event value cap are typical.
- It isn't a maintenance service: plannable repairs, renovation work, and wear and tear don't fall under it.
What can home assistance actually do?
The essence of home assistance is organisation and speed: in an emergency, a tradesperson arrives from the insurer's partner network – a plumber, a locksmith, a glazier, a roofer, an electrician. The typical scope: clearing a blockage, letting you back in after a lockout, temporary or permanent replacement of broken glass, temporary covering after storm damage, quick fixing of a burst pipe. The value of the service isn't measured in money alone: you're not the one hunting for a reliable tradesperson on a Sunday evening – the organising is the insurer's job. Home assistance is a standard element in many packages, an optional add-on in others – our map of optional covers shows where it fits into the line-up.
The limits: number of call-outs and value cap
Home assistance isn't unlimited: it typically comes with a set number of call-outs per year and a per-event value cap – anything above that is yours to cover. It's also worth knowing what the limit covers: just the call-out fee and the labour for the fix, or materials too. The difference shows up in practice: a lockout typically fits within it, a full lock replacement may not. This isn't a flaw – it's simply what the service is: home assistance is there to bridge an emergency – permanent repair is already the territory of a claims cover, or something you arrange yourself. Before signing, two questions are enough: how many call-outs are included per year, and what's the per-event budget.
What ISN'T home assistance?
Fixing a dripping tap, replacing an ageing boiler, plannable maintenance – these aren't emergencies, and they don't belong here either. Home assistance isn't a household maintenance service, nor is it a claims cover: if a blockage led to flooding, the damage from the escaping water is already a matter for the water damage from pipes cover – the two work together, but under separate rules. It's worth checking the policy's definition of an emergency too: typically, an emergency is something that, without immediate action, would cause further damage or make the home uninhabitable. It's an important distinction too that home assistance draws on its own separate budget: its limit isn't taken out of the buildings or contents sum insured.
How to request it in the right order
Home assistance should always be requested through the insurer's line – the number given in the policy, typically available round the clock, or via the online portal. The order matters because the fee for a tradesperson you called yourself is typically not reimbursed, or only to a limited extent. Save these in your phone in advance: the insurer's name, your policy number, the assistance number – this helps a lot in an emergency. If the emergency also turned into a claim, claim reporting follows the same logic: the insurer's claims line – the process is set out in our how to report a claim article. And it's worth reviewing what this section can do in your own package against the criteria on the Coverage page – between two similar offers, the content of the assistance cover can be a good deciding factor.
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