Owning an older home can be a lovely experience, especially if it is rich in history and in a great location. Older homes typically have beautiful exteriors and great benefits, and were built in an era where everything was built to last.
Living in an older home can give you beautiful features such as large windows, balconies, beautiful staircases, and potentially even beautiful art on the ceilings. While some of these homes need repairs done to be livable by modern standards, they can be great investments as these beautiful homes will last you a lifetime.
However, some of the features such as knob and tube wiring can be hard to replace.
While most knob and tube wiring situations are stable and alright to continue using, sometimes improper installation or insulation near the wires can prove hazardous, so it can be a concern when you are looking to insure your home with finding an insurance company who will be able to agree with covering your home with an older style of wiring.
While many think that they would experience extremely high premiums with knob and tube wiring if an insurance company would even insure them in the first place, it isn't completely impossible to get insurance for your home with dated wiring like knob and tube. However, there are some things you need to consider before you decide to keep your knob and tube wiring system.
Most of the time, the insurance company will only care about whether you have a breaker box that is functional. If you do, your insurance may not have a problem with insuring you, but there are also other things you need to understand and take into consideration before you make your decision.
If your insurance does decide to cover you, they will most likely have an inspector come to your house and check the wiring and insulation around your house. This can take a while, and if the results are that your wiring is dangerous, you might not be able to get the insurance after all. There is usually a lot of criteria before the house with knob and tube wiring is considered safe.
Lastly, there's a very, very good chance that even if your house is approved, they would charge you up to around an extra 66% in your monthly premium because of the knob and tube wiring.
So if we're being honest, unless you just absolutely cannot afford to switch your home over to modern wiring techniques, you might be looking at a high premium, but if your house is still safe then you CAN still get insurance on your house with knob and tube wiring electrical arrangements.
Knob and tube is common in Winnipeg. At PowerTec we can help you make the switch over to a better electrical system or even help make your knob and tube wiring system more standard and up to code. As always, for any questions please call or click today!
