Seems to be a relatively common thing. We just changed home insurance and had to put in a new hot water heater as the old one was installed the same time the house was built 1999). The insurance said we had to install a new one before they'd insure us. It dropped our annual insurance premium from approx. $4000 to less than $2000, so we had a net savings of about $800 plus a new water heater.
Can't really blame the insurance companies for what is happening though. They're obviously trying to cut down their risk as much as possible. Our agent said that something like 40% of home insurance claims involve water damage. So--yeah. Old roofs, old water heaters, bad siding, etc. can all be the root of claims. If the companies cut back their risks so that they can keep premiums status quo rather than increasing them as much as they have over the past 2-3 years, then I applaud what they're doing. Saves us all in the long run.
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