I’ll try to keep my story short and I am interested in hearing your opinions.
I just bought a single-detached home – age 59 years. It has a fully finished basement with a suite (own kitchen, laundry).
The house had been purchased last year by a professional contractor who completely rennovated it. He gutted the interior right down to the insulation. You didn’t have to be an expert to see that it was quality work.
However, the real estate market tanked and the contractor had to sell at a substantial loss. So, I did get a deal.
I hired my home inspector and was impressed by his knowledge and report. There was apparently very little wrong with the home.
Subsequently, I contacted my insurance company to arrange fire insurance. Of course, they grilled me for details on the home. At the end of the lengthy conversation with the insurance agent, I was kind of startled when she informed me that the home did not meet their criteria for an insurance policy due to insufficient amperage service.
When the home was renovated, the contractor brought a new power line from the outside to a new electrical panel with 125 amp service. From the new panel, there was a 60 amp feed to the old electrical panel (which is now a sub panel).
The insurance company maintains that this is insufficient for a home with a suite and presents a potential fire hazard.
They will offer me insurance only if I upgrade the electrical so that either the entire house has 200 amp service or there is at least 100 amp service to each of the two “units” (main floor and basement suite).
My questions:
— Is the insurance company out to lunch on this? Is this situation really a fire hazard?
— Why didn’t the home inspector catch this and advise me? (Mind you, I would probably still have bought the home)
— How much should this cost to fix, if it needs fixing?
— What is the best solution? I feel it is probably upgrading the electrical so that the entire home has 200 amp service. But what about the sub panel with its 60 amp service feed? I believe the sub panel feeds some major appliances like a washer and dryer.
Some constructive feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.