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The following is a general summary of cover from a selection of providers. Please contact providers for full details.

British Gas 'Kitchen Appliance Care Plan'

Maintenance and breakdown care for 3 appliances for �9.50 per month. Covers washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, fridges and freezers, cookers, ovens, hobs and microwaves.

Benefits include:

immediate protection with no initial inspection

24 hour, 365 days a year priority customer help line

no extra charges for parts and labour

fully qualified, British Gas engineers

normally next day repair service

if the appliance is beyond repair we may contribute towards the replacement of a similar model

British Gas website
Tel: 0845 600 5090

Domestic & General

Multi Appliance Policy

To protect all major household domestic appliances up to eight years old.

Benefits include:

a single phone call puts you in touch with our network of experienced and reliable repairers who will fix your appliance and send us the bill.

if your appliance cannot be repaired a cash payment will be made to contribute towards the cost of a replacement

in the event of a breakdown, you will also be insured for food spoilt in the freezer under warranty

Take out cover on your appliances at any time from the day of purchase to when each is eight years old.

Appliances with cover already in place can be renewed forever, but you will no longer be able to take out a new policy after eight years.

Domestic & General website
Tel: 0870 607 5566.

Breakdown Protection

For your washing machine, television, lawn mower, camcorder or other appliance.

Benefits include:

no more repairers' bills.

help at the end of the telephone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year

Full protection including cover for damage caused accidentally

Up to five years protection available

New for old protection

Quality-approved and reliable repairers

Plans taken up during the manufacturer's guarantee period offer new for old protection. This means, if we can not fix it, you get a brand new replacement appliance.

On other plans, if your appliance cannot be economically repaired, you will receive money towards a replacement. This payment is calculated on a depreciation scale

Domestic & General website
Tel: 0870 607 5566.

Flying Tool Box

Provided by Domestic and General. This service guides you to a pre-vetted, approved, quality repairer near you.

It provides information about the best repairers in your area, as voted for by Domestic & General customers, as well as the approximate prices each repairer charges.

Flyingtoolbox.com gives you the option of purchasing RepairPlan, a breakdown insurance policy, which covers you for the repairs you need (including parts and labour), and also covers the appliance for a full 12 months against the cost of any further repairs that may be needed.

With RepairPlan you get a fixed price, for a quality repair and you are protected against further repair costs for the year ahead.

Flying Toolbox website
Tel: 0870 607 5566.

Norwich Union 'Home Appliance Cover'

'Home Appliance Cover', which replaces 'Appliance Breakdown Cover', covers most home appliances against mechanical or electrical breakdown.

As well as covering the usual mod cons, 'Home Appliance Cover' also covers DVD players, digital TVs and cooker hoods.

Some of the key features of 'Home Appliance Cover' include:

Option to cover appliances up to five or eight years old

Cover starts from �8.99 per month (�7.99 for existing customers)

Covers an unlimited number of main home appliances under one policy - for example, a customer could have three televisions covered at no extra charge

New for old replacement on appliances under five years old, which are beyond economical repair

Option to buy over the phone or on the internet

No policy excess

Norwich Union website
Tel: 0870 5143 108.
Lines open Mon-Fri 8am-10pm, Sat 8am-6pm & Sun 10am-4pm.

Warranty Direct

The Warranty Direct Household scheme costs �7.75 per month for three named household appliances up to eight years old.

Payment is monthly, with the ability to cancel or alter an item included at any point without penalty. Plasma TV's are not currently covered.

Claims can be made at any time, but if you claim within the first six months you must pay for up to six months cover first.

If you want to cover more than three items, it costs an additional �2.25 per month per extra item.

We aim to get an engineer out next day. However if you can get a repairer out quicker than us, you can do this and we'll then deal with them.

We have a repair or replace policy. If the item is less than six years old and is beyond economical repair - then we will replace the item for a similar new appliance.

If the item is over six years old and is beyond repair we will ask the customer to make a contribution of 40% to the cost of a new appliance.

Appliances must come on cover under eight years of age - and we will cover them for up to 10 years of age.

Warranty Direct website
Free phone: 0800 731 7001

Single Item Extended Warranty Cover

NIG (part of the Churchill Group)

Offer extended warranties through some brokers. Suppliers such as Comet, Currys and Dixons also sell these as service contracts.

They are usually sold on the basis of taking over cover after the manufacturers' one year warranty e.g. 4 years after one.

Cover: Generally mechanical and electrical breakdown. They tend to exclude damage by corrosion, wear and tear and cosmetic damage such as scratches.

Cover is for parts and labour up to the purchase price of the appliance, but without limit on the number of repairs.

If there were many repairs, the appliance would normally be replaced as this would be a benefit to both the customer and the insurer.

Cost: Each scheme is priced on the basis of the exact cover given and the length of the warranty.

Typical prices for a fridge could be �35 for 2 years after 1 or �80 for 4 years after 1.

Also:

Household contents insurance cover

Manufacturers' cover


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