Not all policies are the same, so it's vitally important that you have your priorities worked out before you buy, as you do not want to find yourself in a situation where your insurance is inadequate, but you don't want to be paying over the odds either. There are two main types of heating insurance.

One covers just your boiler and controls, and the other covers your boiler, controls and your full central heating system. Some plans offer additional emergency cover in case anything should go wrong with your plumbing, wiring, or you lose your house keys and need to get in a locksmith. However, the more cover that you add, the higher your premium will be, so bear this in mind when you're assessing your priorities.

It is unwise to assume that all household insurance plans provide unlimited cover, as some will have maximum payout amounts for each claim and per year, usually in the region of ?1,000 to ?1,500, or limit the number of free call outs per year to two or three. Some policies don't provide free boiler safety checks, or pay for any damage caused by the build up of limescale.

For safety reasons, you should have your boiler checked every year by a qualified, registered technician, so if this is not included in your policy you'll have to factor in approximately ?70 extra per year to your overall energy costs.

It is also important to check whether your particular type of boiler can be covered by a prospective insurer, so be sure to check before you buy. The majority of policies will only cover repairs to boilers under a certain age, and if it is older than this you might have to pay for a safety inspection before you can get it insured. Even if your old boiler meets all the requirements of your insurance policy, some older boilers may not be liable for replacement in the event that it becomes unserviceable over a certain age.

Not only do older boilers tend to be less reliable, and therefore more costly to insure, they are also a good deal less energy efficient. Back in the good old days, before energy shortages and the widespread awareness of global warming, this was less of an issue, but with gas prices the way they are now, it will often work out a lot cheaper from the point of view of your energy bills, buying a newer, more reliable, and more energy efficient boiler.