Homeowners insurance issues

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  • Batt5
    Junior Member
    • Jan 2021
    • 2

    Homeowners insurance issues

    Hey everyone,

    New to the forum, so not sure if this has been discussed already. I am in central Florida and recently had solar panels installed on my house, My homeowners insurance company is saying they are dropping my coverage because of the net metering. I don't understand their logic behind it, has anyone else ran into this?
  • SunEagle
    Super Moderator
    • Oct 2012
    • 15143

    #2
    Originally posted by Batt5
    Hey everyone,

    New to the forum, so not sure if this has been discussed already. I am in central Florida and recently had solar panels installed on my house, My homeowners insurance company is saying they are dropping my coverage because of the net metering. I don't understand their logic behind it, has anyone else ran into this?
    Hello Batt5 and welcome to Solar Panel Talk

    I have not heard about an insurance company dropping someone that has Net metering before but they can drop people for all types of reasons. Maybe it has to do with the kW size of the solar system.

    Which insurance company are you talking about and what is your POCO?

    Comment

    • azdave
      Moderator
      • Oct 2014
      • 775

      #3
      I was with State Farm for 37 years until recently. After them agreeing that my small residential grid-tie system was insured with no issues, they came back a few years later and quietly modified my policy language saying that if I made more energy than I consumed in any single month during the last 12 months, they could refuse to pay a claim because my my grid-tie was exporting excess power and therefore was a business venture and not a residential use. Quite stupid to say the least so I dropped them and went to another company that was happy to have my business. Good move in the end because I increased my coverage while lowering my annual premium by over $800. State Farm could seem to care less that they lost a 37 year loyal customer.
      Dave W. Gilbert AZ
      6.63kW grid-tie owner

      Comment

      • Batt5
        Junior Member
        • Jan 2021
        • 2

        #4
        My system was small enough, teir 1 I think? My insurance co. is Frontline. POCO meaning solar co? Atlantic Key Energy installed them. From what I can gather is that they don't like that I can profit by selling power back to FPL, it changes my residence to more of a business.

        Comment

        • SunEagle
          Super Moderator
          • Oct 2012
          • 15143

          #5
          Originally posted by Batt5
          My system was small enough, teir 1 I think? My insurance co. is Frontline. POCO meaning solar co? Atlantic Key Energy installed them. From what I can gather is that they don't like that I can profit by selling power back to FPL, it changes my residence to more of a business.
          POCO is power company which you state as FPL.

          As i said before an insurance company can drop someone for all types of reasons. If exporting extra kWh determines you as a "business" then maybe look into what a policy with that company charges for a "business' and switch to that or maybe it is time to look for another home owners policy.

          Comment

          • peakbagger
            Solar Fanatic
            • Jun 2010
            • 1566

            #6
            My State Farm policy has a solar exclusion on installed size but its based on some percentage of generation in excess of 12 month usage. Surprising that they have different rules for different areas. I wonder it an agent is misinterpreting the policy?

            I carry a surplus year to year as my utility does not force me to reset yearly like many utilities do. I adjust my minisplit usage for winter heating to keep that surplus carried over each year to within a general range. of 2000KW. If i start to draw down to much in the spring, i just burn more wood later into the spring.

            Comment

            • azdave
              Moderator
              • Oct 2014
              • 775

              #7
              Originally posted by peakbagger
              My State Farm policy has a solar exclusion on installed size but its based on some percentage of generation in excess of 12 month usage. Surprising that they have different rules for different areas. I wonder it an agent is misinterpreting the policy?
              The State Farm policy I had was worded very poorly when it came to solar system concerns. That was about three years ago. They probably revised it after too many customers cancelled policies. My agent and I both agreed that the way it read was that if I had a loss, SF could easily deny any coverage if they discovered only one month out of the previous 12 months where my system produced more than 120% of our needs. It did not matter how things averaged out annually (which is well below 120%). We easily exceed 120% in the spring and fall months when A/C loads are very low and panels are cooler.

              In my opinion, State Farm contributed to the significantly earlier ROI point of my system because of the premiums I saved when they forced me to find another insurance company. I also cancelled policies on my 6 vehicles, 3 trailers and an umbrella policy I had with them. That amounted to saving well over $1500 per year. I'm quite happy now that they made such a miscalculation in their attempts to reduce exposure when insuring grid-tied PV homes.

              Dave W. Gilbert AZ
              6.63kW grid-tie owner

              Comment

              • ajzwilli
                Member
                • Aug 2020
                • 41

                #8
                Does anyone have experience with homeowners insurance and roof replacements. My roof was in good shape when my panel were installed, but after a few hail storms, looks like I may need to get my roof replaced. My neighbor ended up getting their roof replaced due to hail last summer and I had their contractor take a look at my roof and he confirmed I had hail damage, but didn't get the roof replaced last year as I ran out of time before it got too cold to re-roof. Assuming my insurance covers the replacement of the asphalt shingles, I was wondering if the insurance would also pay for the removal/reinstallation of the panels. In talking to my installer, they had a few of their clients whose insurance covered not only the roof replacement, but also the removal and reinstallation of the panels. Has anyone experienced this or know which insurance carries would cover this?

                Comment

                • SunEagle
                  Super Moderator
                  • Oct 2012
                  • 15143

                  #9
                  Originally posted by ajzwilli
                  Does anyone have experience with homeowners insurance and roof replacements. My roof was in good shape when my panel were installed, but after a few hail storms, looks like I may need to get my roof replaced. My neighbor ended up getting their roof replaced due to hail last summer and I had their contractor take a look at my roof and he confirmed I had hail damage, but didn't get the roof replaced last year as I ran out of time before it got too cold to re-roof. Assuming my insurance covers the replacement of the asphalt shingles, I was wondering if the insurance would also pay for the removal/reinstallation of the panels. In talking to my installer, they had a few of their clients whose insurance covered not only the roof replacement, but also the removal and reinstallation of the panels. Has anyone experienced this or know which insurance carries would cover this?
                  I had Citizens insurance when I had my roof replaced back in 2013 and they did not cover the removal and replacement of my solar hot water heater panel.

                  While that was only one panel it was 4 ft x 10 ft.

                  Comment

                  • Mike90250
                    Moderator
                    • May 2009
                    • 16020

                    #10
                    I would think if your panels are insured, even if undamaged, insurance should pay for their R&R, since they know the panels are there.
                    press the issue hard enough, and your ins may cover it and then non-renew you !!
                    Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
                    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
                    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

                    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
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                    Comment

                    • merrykeys
                      Junior Member
                      • Oct 2021
                      • 2

                      #11
                      Such equipment is quite expensive and is subject to the risks of mechanical damage, natural disasters, fires, and illegal actions of third parties. Therefore, companies often provide several types of solar cell insurance.
                      The most popular is to insure the property of a solar power plant as an integral property complex after the completion of construction and commissioning of the facility. Unfortunately, I cannot help you with the insurance companies you have already applied to.
                      Try contacting youi dot com au. My friends often bought insurance from this company; I have not heard any negative reviews.

                      MOD NOTE. I removed the link to the insurance company. please do not include links like this in your post without the approval of the Admin.
                      Last edited by SunEagle; 04-27-2022, 08:09 AM.

                      Comment

                      • Alfredolch
                        Junior Member
                        • Apr 2021
                        • 3

                        #12
                        Tell them you can pay a little more for insurance, but don't let the solar panels interfere with your contract. I think you can start cooperation without a problem. For example, I was most stopped from home insurance by this question -- does home insurance cover a washing machine? But then I discussed it with my insurance agent, and we signed an excellent insurance contract for two years. My house is fully insured, and I pay about 1.2k dollars. I understand that the price for this service is high, but it's worth it.
                        Last edited by Alfredolch; 08-30-2022, 06:36 AM.

                        Comment

                        • Apertuta
                          Junior Member
                          • May 2022
                          • 3

                          #13
                          well, this is a classic situation. Now there are a lot of insurance companies that benefit from signing a contract first, and then for some reason refuse to pay you. usually such clauses in the contract are written in small print. This is especially often done by companies that have high life insurance rates. In addition, it is often possible to immediately insure the life of you and your family, health, real estate and transport for a large amount. A friend of mine decided to use the services of an insurance company and chose the 5 million dollar life insurance policy. He likes everything, but there are still strange rules that he needs to follow. He is not allowed to make a fire on the territory of his yard And many other things.
                          Last edited by Apertuta; 11-01-2022, 05:09 AM.

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