PSA: California Residents Homeowner Insurance "Utility Rating" savings if you re-work your load-center / HVAC

[holeydonut]

I have no clue where to dump this, but since you all are nerds this could be useful here. Edit: I DO NOT work for State Farm; but please delete if you think this is a shill post. I don't know how which insurance carriers this could apply to.

I've learned that homeowners insurance underwriting for some carriers in California punish a home with higher premiums for being 30+ years old. But this can be offset if the homeowner has upgraded their circuit breaker box (load center) and HVAC. Since a lot of people in this sub have actually done both, it's worth looking into to see if you can get a premium reduction.

I'm with State Farm, and they have two potential avenues. One is a "complete update" and another for a "partial update" This is kind of confusing (but not as confusing as a NEM2-PS black and white bill). What I understand is:

For the "complete update", this has the most savings... and can kick in once a house hits 30 years old. this requires you to re-do everything. Basically a complete gut-job and remodel. To get the discount, your contractor has to attest the work was done. This includes all your plumbing/vents AND all interior wiring. So it's probably really tough to get this unless PG&E burns your house down (I couldn't resist, sorry).

For the partial update... It only requires the homeowner attestation on the main load center and HVAC only (no plumbing or wires). The savings only kick in when a house is 40+ years old though. And the savings are a bit less than the complete overhaul. However, this means when a home is 30 to 40 years old, there is no way to get savings even if you did the partial work at year 30. Color me confused... but whatever.

Anyway, if you've upgraded your service entry, main panel, and HVAC, it's worth a call to your insurance agent.

 

[jjrandorin]

(moderator note)

It likely "goes" in the CA subforum... however the users it would be most likely to be applicable to are likely active users of this subforum, so I am going to leave it here. I also am comfortable with this not being advertising or anything, just more of a PSA like you mentioned.

 

[scotsmanswan]

I was able to take advantage of this underwriting adjustment with State Farm for a c1905 row home I owned in Philadelphia. I got some supporting documents from prior owner who had gutted and upgraded the entire home in addition to some pictures of new service panel and State Farm rated my home as "new" versus being 100 years old.

 

[wwu123]

Our CA home is about 60 years old, typical for the suburban sprawl, but we did a complete remodel about a decade ago. So a fair amount of the electrical and plumbing and HVAC ducts were re-done, and brought up to code if applicable. I do remember when changing home insurance a few times since, filling out some detailed questionnaires that asked whether several of those items had been re-done and when. So I'm sure it's factored into the rates somehow.

And this was all owner attestation, as while some insurers did send someone out to verify square footage, roof type, etc, all of that was done just from outside visual inspection, not coming inside.

But I don't asking whether the furnace or air-conditioner has been replaced, they typically do every 20 years or so, what does that have to do with the risk to a house, vs say a faulty outlet or flooding from a burst pipe?

 

[holeydonut]

But I don't asking whether the furnace or air-conditioner has been replaced, they typically do every 20 years or so, what does that have to do with the risk to a house, vs say a faulty outlet or flooding from a burst pipe?

I think the insurance companies have a lot of data around ignition sources for their expensive claims… HVAC, plumbing, and wires are probably all known culprits. But AC does seem like a low occurrence item.

Keep your furnace from causing a fire

Cold temperatures mean furnaces – and furnace technicians – are working overtime.

www.wndu.com

From the article…

The National Fire Protection Association says more than one in six home fires start from heating equipment, which is the second most common cause of a fire behind cooking.

While most heating-related fires start from either space heaters or fire places, more than one out of every 10 starts with a central heating system.

Experts warn rising temperatures can turn air conditioners into fire hazards

The appliance many people rely on to keep their homes cool could potentially pose a fire risk.

abcnews.go.com

Air conditioners cause an average of 20 deaths, 140 injuries, and $82 million in property damage annually, according to a 2016 report by the National Fire Protection Association.



Ooo they have a handy chart …

 

[holeydonut]

I followed up with my insurance agent and told him to tell me if he ever hears about a battery/ESS catching on fire with or without bollards.

He told me I was a weird one …