They look at age of air handler and water heaters due to damage they can cause. That damage can far exceed cost of replacement of old unit. So, insurance exclude wear and tear, but have high risk on old units costing other expensive damage to home.

If you read every word of the policy (fine print ) you’ll see lot of exclusions in lawyers jargon which most don’t understand.

Somebody mentioned home warranties, good luck with that, IMO their lawyer jargon worse than home insurance policies. I had neighbors that had home warranties, they IMO rarely even pay anything.

Once the three items you mentioned begin to age, they can leak and you not know it until you have a major problem. One of my neighbors had an old water heater that caused a flood in her house, which then meant a pretty big insurance claim. And remember your AC can leak also, and an old roof — well you get it!

The insurance companies are concerned that older water heaters will leak and cause water damage claims. The ten year roof mania was all about roof damage claims citing damage to 25% of the roof area. This allows for replacement of the entire roof, regardless of the type or severity of damage, all due to a court decision.

Insurance is in constant state of flux here
 

I am with State Farm. My rate from 2023 to 2024 actually went down $100.00. I opted for Ground Movement. This covers "Sink Hole" or other ground failure that is not seen....i.e. under your house. Most insurers will not cover a roof over 15 years old. You have to get a new one. I strongly advise getting whole house gutters. You cannot believe the amount of water that falls here. For what ever reason, the natural gas line in the house is in flex tubing and runs up into the attic. This is what usually causes house fire in event of lightning strike. DO NOT get the optional "Surge Protection" from Duke. They cover nothing. Better off getting quality surge protectors for computers, TVs etc. We have been fortunate the past 2 yrs. I live down by Sawgrass Grove. Have now been through 4 hurricanes and all we had is wind/rain. No damage or power outages due to storms. So coverage for lightning and resulting damage to appliances, wiring etc, wind/rain, ground disturbance, things falling from the sky (from a plane or other source. I'm from So Calif and it happens), liability for worker on your property. This raises another point. Only hire qualified contractors. A contractor will say they are licensed and insured. Yes they have a drivers license and their truck is insured. Yes this is what they do! Be sure to check that the business is licensed, insured, bonded and has workers comp. I also opted for a $1mil "Umbrella Policy" in case of suit. BTW...Seniors vs Crime is always a first place to check for contractor, etc. They have recovered over $2Mil for Villagers who were ripped off.

The age of the three items is related to insurance companies willingness to write you a policy, and if so, at what premium. Older roofs and water heaters expose insurers to higher risk of water damage and a failed A/C system can lead to costly mold damage. Insurance companies are in the business of profitable risk based pricing and are always looking for new ways to stratify and quantify every type of risk possible.

Same thing with Farmers, we just got our non-renewal notice despite never having a claim on 5 different homes over a very long time. My understanding is that the reason Villagers are getting cancelled, to reduce hurricane exposure, is because insurers can’t cherry pick locations within the state where they want to write policies. They either have to write insurance throughout the state, or pull out entirely. I suspect that if companies like Farmers and Progressive could write policies at locations like the Villages, but avoid the much higher risk costal locations, our policies wouldn’t be getting cancelled.

If you purchase a resale home, make sure it is a newer build so it will be built to the newer hurricane building codes. This will help when you search for home owners insurance. Also, a block house will probably have lower insurance than a stick built home.

Question: I assume you're referring to shingle roofs, yes? Because, my understanding is that both membrane and metal roofs last a fair amount longer than shingle. So, how do insurers generally factor those?

I am a fan of gutters (never quite understand why some houses don't have them or only partially) but, I'm interested why you stated that? Is it because it creates too much ground saturation around the foundation?

Gutters empty into downspouts that need a place to dump a concentrated amount of water. Houses are so close together it’s sometimes difficult to find a place for the downspouts to be placed. Also, no basements to protect from flooding. Sandy Florida soil drains very quickly. It’s also nice for senior citizens not to have to climb ladders to clean out the gutters, especially if you happen to have a Live Oak or other large tree near your home.

I see...thank you. Thought there may be reasons that hadn't occurred to me.

There are pros and cons of gutters.

Pro - you don't get as wet when you walk outside in the rain.
Also, can direct water - if you have a good place to direct it, and you don't mind a 6' extension into your lawn to get it away from your house.

Con - can get clogged. Clogged gutters can do significant damage to roof, and facia (behind the gutter).
Unsightly, maintenance, pressure washing, scrubbing mold, painting?

Unless I have a good reason for gutters, I leave them off. I've even torn 'em down on several homes.

They told me they are leaving the state, cancelling on a rolling basis based on policY dates. My renewal is Dec, they notified me in August.

Well, I had Progressive and I didn't have my policy cancelled 2 years ago. No, what they told me in a letter is that it would not be RENEWED if I didn't replace the 15 year old roof. So it may be true that nobody has been cancelled as that suggested in the middle of the policy year.

Fast and loose with language.

I just read where CA home insurance rates climb 30+%

Allstate receives approval for 34% increase in homeowners insurance rates

The issue is that more houses have been built in the higher risk areas, builders build where people want to go, same with the Morse Development company. FL is no different than CA and other eastern coastal states.

Paradise locations are more expensive to live than most others, so insurance will wax and wane as states regulators allow price changes based upon coverage options and suppliers. . in a competitive economy, always the solution for high prices is high prices, but that solution is very counter intuitive and unpopular. .

good luck to us

The insurance had no problem offering insurance on the home. The water heater or boiler for the home heating system as well as the central air conditioning were not covered if they failed due to wear and tear. Age of these system were not even mentioned.
We had hot water radiant heat which if you think about it presents a greater chance of water damage since hot water is circulating through out the house.
I get it that insurance coverage is tough for the companies as a whole in Florida due to storms. Replacing water heaters and heat pumps at 12 years or so is nonsense.