Insurance Companies Refuse to Cover Homes with Polybutylene Piping

Insurance Companies Refuse to Cover Homes with Polybutylene Piping

If you’ve read any of our previous blogs or looked around on your website, you know that repiping has always been one of our specialties. Pipes get old over time and need replacement; it happens. But we couldn’t help but notice an upsurge in calls the past few months. Our technicians are providing repipe estimates on a daily basis and our repipe crew has been extremely busy. Why the sudden increase?

After looking into things further, we found that many insurance companies are now requiring home inspections to find out if a home has polybutylene piping. When that piping was first discovered, it was thought to be the next great advance in plumbing pipes and fixtures. In fact, it was installed in an estimated 1 in 5 homes between the years of 1978-1995. Shortly thereafter though, homeowners found out that the piping wasn’t reliable. It becomes brittle over time and if left unchecked, caused extensive water damage to the home. It caused a class-action lawsuit and is basically what we like to call a “ticking time bomb.”

That’s why insurance companies are cracking down on this certain type of pipe and refusing to cover homes if they have it. It also greatly decreases market value of a home. If you think that you’re home has polybutylene piping, feel free to give us a call at (239) 232-2012 or contact us online. We would be happy to walk the property and provide you with a free repipe estimate!

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