Originally Posted By: jhirst This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I am a NACHI member! There are thousands of old houses with knob & tube wiring, b ut who is insuring them? Many home owners insurance companies are refusing to insure new clients. Does anybody know where I can find the names of home owners insurance companies who will insure for knob & tube wiring?
Originally Posted By: dvalley This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
jhirst,
Welcome to NACHI.
I just inform my client about the insurance companies stance on K&T. Most homeowners do find that it is difficult for insurance brokers to source economical premium quotes for K&T.
I simply tell them to check with their insurance company first, to determine coverages on live K&T. Let your clients find the appropriate company.
Originally Posted By: dedwards This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Listen to these guys. This is very sound advice. Home inspectors are by their very nature very helpful but do not fall into the trap of being too helpful. Our job is to inspect the home. People, especially first time home buyers want someone to “help” them through the process and often look to the home inspector for “advice”. Being too helpful can get you into a situation where you find you are in the middle of something you wish you could extract yourself from by offering help outside the purview of the inspector. Hard to do sometimes but you have to do it.
Inspect, get the check, get out, all the while being courteous and professional.
I have not contacted all of them, but as far as I know, none are writing new policies for properties with K&T. A few are even refusing to write new policies for houses with asbestos shingle siding. Why? well, because they can. I never got a straight answer about the underwriting guidelines for the siding, even after directing them to USDOH and EPA findings, but as for K&T, there is nobody that considers K&T to be anything other than archaic at best or a potential fire hazard at worst.
Not that there is anything inherently wrong with K&T (other than being ungrounded), I mean, it can still work, but the vast majority of existing K&T has been improperly tapped, spliced or otherwise modified over the years. They (insurers) are justified in their assumptions about the potential dangers of K&T.
I just say to my clients that there is a strong likelihood that they will have difficulty finding an insurer who will write a house with any K&T, and always recommend replacement.
Originally Posted By: dedwards This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I should have been clearer in my earlier post. I meant to say do not help them find insurance. Your duty as the inspector is to of course advise them on the inherent dangers found during the course of an inspection. Ive had people ask me everything from “Do you think this is a good buy” to “Are you married?”
ut who is insuring them? Many home owners insurance companies are refusing to insure new clients. Does anybody know where I can find the names of home owners insurance companies who will insure for knob & tube wiring?