If you have an older home, you may find some home insurance companies unwilling to insure you. Due to the recent severe tornado season, Alfa insurance will no longer sell homeowners insurance covering homes built before 2001 in Alabama. If you buy a home built in 2000, will you have a hard time finding an insurance company willing to insure your home? Not likely, unless you are near the coast or in tornado alley, but the older your home is, the more likely you are to find some insurance companies unwilling to offer you home insurance.

The good news is home insurance company eligibility requirements are very different among insurance companies. You may have a home built in 1940. Some insurance companies will refuse to insure it. Some insurance companies will insure it depending on the age or type of the wiring, heating, or plumbing systems. Some insurance companies will insure it without any additional qualifications due to the home’s age.

However, if you own an older home, you may have some issues getting homeowners insurance, or getting home or property insurance covering you for replacement cost, particularly if the home is a rental property.

Homeowners insurance providing replacement cost coverage is needed to avoid having to pay tens of thousands of dollars out of your own pocket, due to depreciation, if you have a large claim. You may need to jump through a few hoops, and shop with all the leading insurance companies, but you should be able to get property insurance with replacement cost on an older home.

My blog post today will give you some tips to help you find the insurance coverage you need for an older home.

You need to know these things about your home:

Your home’s Foundation

If your home is built on a continuous masonry foundation, no homeowners insurance company should have an issue with your foundation — as long as it is not crumbling. But some older houses are built on an open pier & post foundation. This will be a deal breaker for many insurance companies, but some insurance companies will not have an issue with it. However, I would be very surprised if you could get earthquake coverage if your home has any part of it on a pier & post (or post & beam) foundation.

If your home’s foundation is not a continuous masonry foundation, you may become discouraged if you contact 3 or 5 insurance companies and they all tell you they can’t insure you because  of the foundation. Keep shopping, and consult a local independent insurance agent having knowledge of your local home insurance market.

Your home’s heating system (HVAC)

Depending where your home is located in the USA, many insurance companies require the homes they insure to have a central, thermostatically controlled heating system.

In states subject to cold weather, like Minnesota, this is a necessity. However, in the South & Pacific Northwest, where we have mild winters, and there are many homes without central heating, this requirement may be less strict.

On older homes where central heating is present or required, you will need to know the age of your furnace and water heater, how it is powered (electric, gas, oil, etc.), whether it is controlled by a thermostat, and if it is up to code.

Supplemental heating, like a wood stove or pellet stove, is usually okay if it is up to code, the stove is Underwriter’s Lab approved, and it was professionally installed.

If you use your stove as your primary heating source, be sure to tell the insurance company you also have central heat, too.

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Once again, the rules will vary from company to company, so shop with all the leading insurance companies to find one that meets your needs with the least hassle. Be honest about your situation, and ask what you can do to make your home qualify, if you had a hard time finding affordable home insurance.

Your home’s electrical system

If your older home is on circuit breakers, you should have few problems with insurance companies offering you home insurance. However, if the home is an old home and a rental, depending on the age, you may have to have the home completely rewired (not just updated) to get a replacement cost policy.

Believe it or not, replacement cost policies can sometimes be A LOT less expensive than actual cash value property insurance policies. So getting replacement cost is not just better coverage, but can offer you a better price, too.

Some insurance companies will not insure you if your electrical service is on fuses, or there is knob & tube wiring in service. Some major insurance companies won’t ask you any questions about the wiring, if the home is owner occupied, regardless of the age.

Your home’s plumbing system

Know what plumbing updates have been done to your home, when they were completed, and if and when the entire system was re-plumbed. Re-plumbing as of a certain date may be required for replacement cost on a rental property.

Read the homeowners insurance application before you sign it

Insurance companies & agents have to ask you a lot of questions to quote your insurance accurately. To save you time, agents sometimes skip questions which show up on the application.

For example, if an agent has seen a picture of your home, or has access to information about your home, they may not ask you to confirm your house has an asphalt roof, when they are pretty sure it does.

Also, if your house has a central vacuum system, it will increase the replacement cost of your house by a small amount, but central vacuum systems are fairly uncommon for an agent to waste your time asking about it.

Unfortunately, some agents will skip over important questions, or make assumptions which turn out to be wrong.

For example, to qualify for home insurance with Company X, you can’t have knob and tube wiring in service. The question appears on the application, but your agent is unaware of its importance. Many insurance companies will not inspect your home to verify there is no knob and tube wiring. If you sign the homeowners application, and a box is checked on the application stating you do not have knob & tube wiring, you can later have a claim denied, and your policy voided, if it is discovered your home has knob and tube wiring.

Always read the application and make sure all questions are answered accurately, to the best of your knowledge. Ask your agent or insurance company if you have any questions.

Insuring an older home can sometimes be a challenge, but by shopping with all the leading insurance companies, you can be assured you will find the best coverage and the best price.

Are you insuring an older home? What insurance company do you use? Did they have any special requirements? Tell me about it. Please leave a comment on my facebook page. Follow me on Twitter for important insurance consumer news and new blog entries at CarInsWatch.