Hi there, I'm just interested in any recommendations for best insurers for these older homes. Wondering if there are any you might know of that would offer full cover giving you a fixed amount of time after purchase to rectify wiring/scrim, etc after purchase? Thanks.

Edited by sully12 at 8:30 am, Fri 9 Jul

sully12 - 2021-07-09 08:29:00

If you are doing it up what about Builders cover ?

martin11 - 2021-07-09 09:03:00

Hi Sully,
I can’t help you re an insurance company sorry but I feel I should give you a heads up to make sure that if you are thinking of buying this cottage your lender knows it needs remedial work done such as re wiring.

Good luck with your project. We’ve been getting some upgrading done on an oldie and are enjoying watching the improvements.

lovelurking - 2021-07-09 09:51:00

Ask your insurance company if they have any issues.

We bought a cottage of the age a few years ago. Our insurer (AMI) had no issues or concerns. We lived in it while it was as bought, then rebuilt it after 3 years, including rewire, AMI were not concerned.

Bank was also unconcerned that we had not got a building inspection.

tony9 - 2021-07-09 10:14:00

Why do you think it's an issue? Do old places burn better than new ones?

bryalea - 2021-07-09 10:27:00

Since I was covering all walls with Gib board I removed the scrim. It seemed rather messy to leave it there. In one room there were 25 layers of scrim, wallpaper, newspaper, and paint.

trade4us2 - 2021-07-09 10:37:00

Contact a local insurance broker, they should be able to get cover and the Insurer will usually give you x amount of time to fully re-wire/re-line etc. Insurers will usually only offer an indemnity policy (if any at all) on pre 1935 homes that have not been fully re-wired and have scrim linings still.

rhys12 - 2021-07-09 11:36:00

If the wiring in your home is not rewired with TPS, you will need to be able to prove that the current wiring is in good condition with no urgent work to be done. That would not give you a guarantee of replacement cover insurance either, likely present/indemnity value. Best to get a wiring report done as part of due diligence before you purchase.

and to answer the above question, older homes do burn better than newer ones when they are constructed of timber, scrim and are full of old wiring!

also check if your older home has any sort of heritage listing on it. Some insurers are better than others at covering these (as in some will not cover any additional expenses that arise from the home being heritage listed)

phoenix22 - 2021-07-09 16:54:00

We had some challenges finding an insurer for a really old house (1894), but had Crombie & Lockwood recommended to us. They were really helpful.

luteba - 2021-07-09 17:01:00

trade4us2 wrote:

Since I was covering all walls with Gib board I removed the scrim. It seemed rather messy to leave it there. In one room there were 25 layers of scrim, wallpaper, newspaper, and paint.

We have a hall a bit the same and we have left it. Not up to 25 however and hasn't been touched since we moved in 43 years ago. It was old then and a neighbour stopped to tell us he was pleased to see we were painting it as it hadn't been painted for 60 years! We have also had a fire in it and the timber charred but did not catch fire. We were able to put out the cause and it stopped further damage. Made a hell of a smoke damage mess though. Never had an issue with insurance in regards it's age, but I see it's insured for replacement rather than a value, which a cottage we put on is. I'm assuming most new policies insure to a value?

Edited by bryalea at 6:58 am, Sat 10 Jul

bryalea - 2021-07-10 06:49:00

43 years living in the same house, that’s amazing...
Congratulations, you must be very happy with your decision to buy your home all those years ago.
I wish we had kept the one we bought way back then but we decided to sell it and put the money into a business. While the business was a much better investment for us, selling that property was a big sacrifice to make.

lovelurking - 2021-07-10 08:38:00