As affordable home insurance in Florida becomes more difficult to come by, it is extremely important that homeowners and prospective homeowners are fully informed before purchasing a new home or purchasing new homeowners insurance.

If one of these SIX conditions exists in the home, “BUYER BE CAREFUL”, as insurance can be difficult and potentially impossible to link.

1) Fuse panel

A properly installed FUSE PANEL alone is not usually a safety concern; however, most insurance companies have prohibited this type of electrical service for all new written policies. There are several reasons, some of which are mentioned below.

Major fuse safety issues come into play when an owner replaces a blown fuse with an oversized fuse (i.e. a blown 15 amp fuse replaced by a 30 amp fuse that is available on the utility room shelf ). The circuit is designed to “explode” at a load greater than 15 amps. Now the “trigger” is set to 30 amps. An additional 15 amps may be enough to heat the wiring or other components enough to cause a fire or other serious injury or damage.

A typical fuse panel can be replaced with a circuit breaker panel for $ 750 to $ 2,000, depending on any other upgrades that need to be made on the replacement. Always obtain a minimum of THREE QUOTES from reputable contractors before authorizing any work performed.

two) Knob and Tube Wiring

Knob and Tube (K&T) wiring was used from the 1880s through the 1930s. This early electrical wiring method did a great job for many years and is still used today in some select government and industrial applications. However, this old rubber or cloth coated wiring that is strung along porcelain knobs has outlived its useful life and is no longer insurable or even legal in residential applications under the National Electrical Code.

An average size home rewire can cost anywhere from $ 8,000 to $ 20,000 depending on the unique design and access to electrical components. Always obtain a minimum of THREE QUOTES from reputable contractors before authorizing any work performed.

3) Aluminum Branch Wiring

In Florida, aluminum wiring has been in the spotlight since 2010 when tens of thousands of Florida homeowners learned that they couldn’t get insurance if they had this common wiring that was used frequently between 1965 and 1973.

Aluminum wiring is known for “cold slip”. Wiring expands as it heats up and contracts as it cools, this can cause the wire to loosen at the connection and this can cause an arc that can heat the fittings and cause fires. Aluminum also rusts over time, which can contribute to this fire safety problem.

There are two options for obtaining insurance if you have aluminum branch wiring. First, and most expensive (but the one we highly recommend) is to completely rewire your branch wiring to copper. This can cost an average of $ 8,000 to $ 20,000 depending on how easy or difficult it is to access your electrical components.

The second option is to use AlumiConn or CopAlum crimps which essentially crimp a copper “pigtail” to your aluminum wire so that the copper wiring is the one that makes the connection to your electrical appliance. This option, on average, costs between $ 1,500 and $ 3,000 depending on how many electrical accessories are in the house. We recommend staying away from this when possible as we fear that the ever-changing insurance industry may eventually BAN the crimp method as well. We also don’t like the idea of ​​going from an average device that has 3 connections to having 6 connections. The more connections, the more chances of failure.

4) Electrical service less than 100 amps

A more recent industrial change in our “power hungry world” requires homes to have 100 amps or more of service to power the home. With the large consumption of electrical power used by the average homeowner, insurance companies seem to fear that smaller utilities may overheat when using typical high-drain appliances.

The cost of upgrading an electrical service can vary depending on whether the size of the electrical wiring can support the increased electrical load. If it can’t, the power line will need to be replaced as well. As always, get at least 3 quotes from reputable electrical contractors.

5) Polybutylene plumbing

This popular plumbing pipe was used extensively during the 1980s and early 1990s. Typically “blue or gray in color,” flexible, and has caused flood damage in thousands of homes across the country. Until recently, some insurance companies did not ask about the type of plumbing pipe, so agents would place homeowners with those companies; however, effective September 1, 2012, Citizens Insurance Company specifically prohibited polybutylene plumbing.

A typical re-plumbing cost can range from $ 4,000 to $ 10,000 depending on the ease of installing the new plumbing (in attics or under houses). We recommend using copper or CPVC tubing, as some insurance companies are also having trouble with PEX tubing, which has become very popular over the last decade. We will cover more about PEX in a later article.

6) Roof with less than 3 years of life

The final INSURANCE DEAL KILLER in today’s article addresses your first line of defense in a windy or rainy event, THE ROOF! If your roof has less than three years of useful life left, you will likely be denied insurance coverage. In our warm Florida sun, an average three-tab tile roof will last 10-15 years. An average dimensional tile roof will last 15-25 years. Other popular roofing options include tile and metal roofs. These options have a significantly longer life expectancy of more than 50 years if properly installed and maintained.

Typically a new roof is calculated per square. One square equals 100 square feet of shingles. In the Pensacola area, the cost per square can range from $ 225 to $ 300 per square, making the average 30-square roof cost between $ 6,750 and $ 9,000, depending on the quality of products used.