Howdy all

I've been bombarded with heavyweight letters from Glow-worm trying to
persuade me to buy insurance for the boiler that was installed in 2008,
and also to buy Homeserve Plumbing and Drainage insurance.

I've been receiving them since the boiler was first installed:
"Charming," I thought. "I pay 'x'hundred pounds for a new boiler from
you, and you immediately start telling me it's going to fail sooner or
later, and it'll cost me hundreds unless I subscribe to your insurance
scheme."

Ditto the Homeserve letters (also from Glow-worm), which invite me to
pay nearly £100p.a. to guard against failures that "can easily cost
hundreds" (the scenarios are nicely illustrated of course).

I object strongly to these kinds of schemes, which seem to be basically
a form of blackmail, and must certainly be successful on less wary,
and/or more helpless people.

HOWEVER: I'm now concerned that the whole industry of plumbing and CH
has gone the way that the motor bodies industry went some years ago:
they're all in bed with each other, and the "cost" of jobs is tied not
to what it really costs, but what the insurance companies are willing to
pay out (which in turn drives up insurance premiums for "the punters").

So cutting the long story short: should I start forking out 200 quid a
year to guard against disasters (100 for plumbing + 100 for the boiler),
or should I continue on my sceptical path, and take a (genuine) punt
against the odds?

Cheers
John