If your home is old enough to be eligible for its own AARP card, it might be time to replenish your flashlight’s D batteries and head down the stairs to check on your electrical panel. Panels containing circuit breakers have been standard since the mid-1960s. Unlike older fuse-style panels, circuit breakers were easy to reset after faults tripped them. These panels typically contained 120 and 240 volt circuits for a total of 100 amps. By the 1980s, a 200 amp panel was required when building new homes or upgrading older homes. These larger panels accommodated the increasing electrical demands of a tech-heavy generation. If you have an older panel, you may not have spared it a thought because it is still running, but the capacity difference between 100 and 200 amps panels exposes you to more risk, and insurers know that.
Every company is different, but most insurance companies won’t cover panels that are considered out of date if the issue originated in the panel. Buyer beware if you see these companies on your panel’s cover: Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Stab-Lok, Zinsco (also known as GTE Sylvania-Zinsco), Challenger Electrical Equipment Corp or Eaton/Cutler-Hammer, and Pushmatic. During our work in Gillette, we’ve seen FPE and Pushmatic panels in older homes. If you have one of these panels and are seeking insurance coverage, then you may need to replace it before you can get a policy. If your elderly panel is still functioning, consider proactively setting aside money in your annual budget before it is an emergency.
