@richard24738 How about a flexible binding to a fixture on the pump and the wall? (Does any physical bond have to be rigid?) We seem to be experiencing some semantic embellishments from insurance T’s & C’s on this point! Regards, Toodles.

Hmmm, with the various experiences being discussed, I think I will dig out the documents from Aviva Insurance and try and double check the telephone assistant's information. They are only human and can make mistakes like the rest of us afterall!

Posted by: @richard24738

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The fact that it is sitting on a concrete slab and not physically attached to the building seems to be the deciding factor.

My bath is attached to the building by a hot and cold water pipe and a drain and is considered part of the Building. My heat pump is attached by a hot and cold water pipe and a drain...why is that not part of the Building?

I'm not a solicitor so mine is not an expert opinion. However, I believe the definition of the building exists in law and is relevant when a property is sold. The definition, as I understand it, dictates that anything permanently attached to that building's fabric is part of the building itself. Therefore if you sold your house you would have to leave the light fittings, bath tub and so on there since they are deemed part of the building itself. It is also the case, as I understand it, that amendments to that understanding are perfectly possible if they are detailed in the contract of sale, so there would be nothing to stop you selling your house with a clause that states you'll be unbolting your satellite dish and taking it with you; the buyer knows what they are buying so there's no unreasonable behaviour going on.

Seems to me that something similar applies here. If the insurance company provides you with a policy that covers the building, I believe (until told I'm talking gonads by someone for whom the law is their profession) the understanding of what "building" means would follow the same principle - the fabric of the building and anything permanently attached to it - unless exceptions to that understanding have been detailed in the policy's terms and conditions. If I am correct, it would not be sufficient for the insurer to reject a claim for the ASHP saying "we don't class that as part of the building"; that amendment to the standard definition would have to already have been detailed in the fine print. If, however, that exception has been made clear in the Ts & Cs then there'd be no argument; they said what they'd cover and you've paid your money to accept that service as stated.

I recently changed house insurance to Ecclesiastical and on p 9 of the policy it specifically states air and ground source heat pumps are classed as part of the buildings cover got a good price and very helpful. People think they only insure churches etc but they do normal house insurance too

Posted by: @dm672

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I recently changed house insurance to Ecclesiastical and on p 9 of the policy it specifically states air and ground source heat pumps are classed as part of the buildings cover got a good price and very helpful. People think they only insure churches etc but they do normal house insurance too

<insert Acts of God home insurance joke here> 🤣 

Toodles; it would seem that their natural fall back is their definition of what is part of the building and, whilst logical, an air to water heat pump is debatable in their eyes so I want a policy where I am comfortable that the heat pump is covered. Policy Expert, to me, said no, it's not part of the Building.

The only buildings insurance policy that I have found that specifically mentions heat pumps is Ecclesiastical (thanks DM672), there could be others of course, still looking.

Ecclesiastical are a bit confusing in that if you go to their web site and download the policy document, heat pumps are not mentioned but they are in an official update to the policy in October 2023, page 9.

Privilege don't seem to exclude the heat pump from the Buildings theft cover, unless it's nicked by a tenant or guest (which is an exclusion to all theft cover). I'm not surprised because they cover oil theft and that's much easier to nick, as long as you have a way to transport it.

Interestingly, the emergency cover bit for heating breakdown (an option where you'd get the likes of Homeserve visit to fix stuff) excludes underfloor heating, solar heating and air-to-air. There's also a maximum heating size of 70kW that I'd overlooked, but that's more likely to trouble oil and gas burners in large old properties.

Personally I think it's only worth insuring stuff when your life would be really difficult without it.  Home against fire, car, medical if you're on hols.  Beyond that?  Phone insurance/white goods/boiler/drains/pet, I'm not convinced by insuring any of it. 

I did once have a bike insured that got nicked, as seems to happen here regularly (Cambridge).  It involved loads of phone calls over several months, and eventually they paid half the replacement cost.  They justified this by claiming they could get "an equivalent" alternative brand cheaper.  I just don't bother now - same as I don't bother gambling at casinos, the banker always wins eventually !

So far, I have found Ecclesiastical are the only insurer that specifically mention Air Source Heat pumps and specifically include them in the Buildings Policy and therefore included in the emergency cover.

Others have some wording which, on interpretation, probably include air source heat pumps but I want to be 100% sure and not drift into legalise arguements.

My install date is 10/11 April 2024 so I can look for a bit longer as Ecclesiastical are quite expensive but it looks like I will be going with them.

Background: I have had my survey and accepted the installation of an Ecodan Monoblock 11.2kw R32, 250l Hot water cylinder, replacing all 16 Rads and gas boiler in a 1998 4 Bedroom Detached Brick built house.

Fingers crossed it all goes to plan otherwise I'll start a new thread!

regards

Posted by: @richard24738

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Fingers crossed it all goes to plan otherwise I'll start a new thread!

Start a new thread, because we’d love to follow the process and see how it goes from start to finish.

I have just switched my home insurance to Aviva, from LV. To echo what @technogeek said a while back, their policy wording makes no mention of "boiler" (LV had note of oil vs networked gas) and consistently uses the phrase "fixed domestic heating" as below:

so I hope this means they view any product which provides the heating, and is fixed to the fabric of the house, to be covered as part of the building insurance. I'd certainly argue that a heat pump is as fixed to the fabric of the building just as much as a gas boiler is.

See also, "fixed clean energy installations" as (possibly) covering heat pumps too, depending on one's point of view.