Insurance backed guarantees

[diy_fun_uk]

I'm getting quotes for a roof to be re-tiled. One company has offered a 15 year guarantee however it's not insurance backed. They advise they can offer this, however there would be an additional cost.

The company has been operational since 2008, good reviews etc, however given this is quite a significant job price wise I think I'd feel more comfortable ensuring the guarantee I have is insurance backed. Although I obviously hope this doesn't happen, the company could cease trading a few years from now and a non insurance backed guarantee would be next to worthless?

Is my rationale correct to opt for a more robust guarantee in this instance i.e. big job?

 

[blup]

The company insuring could also go bust.

The best guarantee is getting a good job done from a reputable local roofer, paper guarantees are next to worthless IMO.

Blup

 

[Vinty]

The company insuring could also go bust.

The best guarantee is getting a good job done from a reputable local roofer, paper guarantees are next to worthless IMO.

Blup

Guarantees only last until the cheque you gave the builder clears.

 

[Ihavenojob]

We had some work done about 20 years ago, had a long warranty, but the guy died a couple of years after he done the work so it would have been worthless. The work he done is still OK though.

 

[Notch7]

Be careful with IBGs, the small print can make them pretty worthless.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

Thanks for the replies all. Tbh I hadn't heard of them, just came across the idea when Googling and it seemed like a good additional layer of protection. However I take the point re all IBGs probably aren't created equal. As I say the roofers I'm looking at are reputable, have been around for years and are offering their own 10-15 year guarantees. My thought process was should they however go out of business x years later and the roof develop a fault, the 'insurance backed' element would hopefully come into its own.

 

[conny]

Have a look to see if you can insure it yourself, so if anything does go wrong, you can select the firm you get to repair it if the roofer you used originally has gone out of business.

 

[Ihavenojob]

Reminds me of this story from a week or so ago
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/mar/13/family-bill-insurer-claim-house-loft-renovation