Electrical service enables your home to be as modern and comfortable as any in the 21st century. And your homeowner’s insurance generally protects your electrical systems inside your home and the appliances they power.
Dwelling insurance coverage is what protects your home’s structure. If your home catches fire, dwelling insurance will pay to rebuild it. It even will protect against electrical fires, but there are exceptions.
Your home’s electrical wiring has to be modern and relatively safe. Some types of wiring are very outdated and potentially dangerous.
If you have outdated wiring, it would be a very good idea to replace it as soon as possible. Repeated residential electrical wire repair can help, but it also is a sign that your electrical wiring is outdated.
The cost to replace electrical wiring can be high, but not as high as the cost to buy a new one if an electrical fire burns down your home and your insurer refuses to compensate you for the extensive damage.
Some Types of Electrical Wiring Are Excluded
Alexandria, Virginia, has some of the oldest and grandest homes in the nation. That means many homes could have substandard wiring that home insurers will not protect.
Examples include old knob-and-tube electrical wiring that leaves wire connections exposed and prone to starting electrical fires. The old form of electrical copper wiring uses insulated copper components affixed to round ceramic knobs to create electrical connections.
The insulators often become brittle and cause the wiring to become exposed. And the ceramic knobs can crack and break over time. That further exposes electrical wiring. The result is a greater potential for an electrical fire.
Aluminum wiring also is outdated and dangerous due to its potential for shorts and suffering damage that could create shorts. Heavy electrical loads could overpower aluminum wiring and cause it to suffer damage. Exposed and damaged aluminum wiring is a fire hazard that homeowners insurance will not cover.
How Bad Wiring Causes House Fires
A short in electrical wiring means the insulator is missing, and the electrical charge is diverted to something else. That something else might be a flammable material that catches fire and destroys your home. If your insurer finds outdated wiring caused the short, then it likely would deny coverage for the electrical fire.
A home improvement loan could help you update your home’s electrical wiring. An experienced and qualified electrical contractor can identify faulty wiring and help you replace it.
Walsh Electric in Alexandria, Virginia, has more than 35 years of experience providing first-rate electrical contracting services in the greater Alexandria area. Call (703) 451-6622 to learn more.
