Very Basic Insurance Question.
 

I have been reading some TV posts that confuse me regarding insurance. I have NEVER heard this before in any state Ive lived outside Florida. Does the home insurance that covers your physical structure and ROOF..... Also cover HVAC & WATER HEATER ?

My question for clarification is we will be buying in the villages very soon. IF we buy resale, it will be 8 years old (or we will buy new). Some people mention the age of all three of these things like the home owners insurance covers all three so if they are older, they're maybe an insurance issue at the 10 yr mark.

Thanks for your time.

Homeowner's insurance will cover the HVAC and water heater if they are damaged by one of the perils described in the policy, such as a fire, windstorm, water damage, or theft. But, if these appliances just stop working or wear out, your insurance will not pay to repair or replace them.

Kind of correct but not entirely accurate. HO insurance is written on an 'all risk' basis. Everything is covered unless an exclusion to coverage exists.

So, yes, your water heater and HVAC system are covered unless the cause of loss is specifically excluded. Examples:

Fire damage to your house damaging hot water tank and/or HVAC units. Fire is not excluded. Damage as a result of the fire is covered.

Hot water tank and/or HVAC wears out. Wear and tear, mechanical failure are excluded. Replacement of the water tank is not covered by your HO insurance.

If the water tank rusts through, however, still no coverage for the replacement of the tank (wear and tear exclusion) but any ensuing water damage would be covered by insurance.

For wear and tear issues, there are Home Warranty policies out there that cover those types of problems. There are ads for them all the time on the TV.

I would encourage you to NOT buy a home warranty. Do a search for other threads on this topic. They are a ripoff.

Insurance here is the same as where you are now, it does not cover 'wear and tear', it covers damage due to covered events. In Florida, lots of shysters conned people to sign "assignment of benefits" documents which allowed the shysters to have COMPLETE CONTROL of the roof replacements up to and including filing suits to have roofs replaced. The con was the people were told the roof replacement was FREE. Florida did pass a law to bar this activity, however there is a loophole, sorry I do not recall the details, however, the bottom line do NOT sign an assignment of benefits document under any circumstances.

99.99% of policies(if not 100%) pay for HVAC and water heaters. I was in the biz and almost all states have same policies. Do an internet search for an HO- 3 policy(most common homeowner policy)

FL Insurance!
 

Our last home in NJ had a hot water heating system and the boiler was installed in the early 90's and is still in service today. No problem with insurance. The water heater was roughly 25 years old when I changed it but there was no issue with insurance coverage. The roof was close to 30 years old when the new owners replaced it, no issue with insurance. Florida insurance companies need to be knocked of thier high horse. They have way too much control!
NJ Manufacturers was the insurance company we used there.

After 10 years, Progressive just cancelled my HO policy along with 5,000 others in TV alone. No reason other than "reducing their hurricane exposure", which is ironic considering that TV is the place they send evacuees from the coast.

Had a meeting with my agent and here are some FACTS, as opposed to TOTV rumor, that I didn't know:

NO ONE has had their homeowners cancelled because their roof was approaching 15 years old or even much older. However, if you change insurance and your roof is 15+ years old, you may have to replace it to get new coverage.

Also, claims history has nothing to do with which policies Progressive is cancelling---it is sort of a random program---many on my street have been cancelled with no claim history---others with roofing issues after Irma have not been cancelled. Go figure.

I would venture to guess this is the brainchild of some actuary at the insurance company---which explains why he isn't a rocket scientist

I know Florida insurance is very prohibitive, but Florida is massively more prone to devastating storms than NJ. If you were in the insurance business, would you want to insure Floridians?!

When you say no issue with insurance, what do you mean?

Did insurance pay for it? Or was there no coverage?

We are with State Farm in Minnesota, and have an add on that covers permanently installed items. Furnace, air, hot water heater and electrical. Our air broke down 20+ years old and just had it replaced. If the units can't be repaired (parts not available etc.) the coverage kicks in to replace minus deductible. The coverage is through S.F. but with another company so it didn't count towards our experience rating.

We moved to another house within the same Village 4 months ago...house not 4 years old yet. We had been with Progressive on our initial home here, as well as our previous home in the Midwest. Progressive would not write the policy on our "new" home, basically saying what you said. In fact, our agent at Villages Insurance told me that Progressive was initiating its departure from Florida...at least in the homeowners market.

Grouping the risks of all counties or regions of Florida is ridiculous. I chose TV for retirement because it is not coastal. There is no logical reason to set our risk the same as someone who lives on the coast.

So, I would be glad to insure both regions, but the coastal regions would pay much higher premiums commensurate with their risk.

You want a beach house, pay up!

Insurance
 

The reason you are seeing those items in regard to homeowners insurance in Florida is when you buy a home sometimes insurance requires a 4 point inspection. It is roof HVAC plumbing and electric. It is to determine if they are all in good shape. The water heater gets called for being old they will ask you to change it. They do not replace water heaters, but they cover damage that happens when one breaks and water intrusion comes through a wall or floor. Same with all the other items, they cover damage if they fail and cause a problem. A 4 point inspection during your home inspection period costs an additional $75 to $125 for the inspector to fill out a form with photos for you to submit to your insurer. Only get one if the insurer requires it.

You would think insurance companies would want to insure in TV as an offset to any policies that they have in the costal areas?