What happens when I find Poly B in your inspected home?
What's happening with Poly B?
When we first built our home in 1988, many homes in the neighbourhood decided to go with hot water heat, and use Poly B piping. ‘Poly B’ as many call it, is common in most homes from 1978-1995 because it was inexpensive to buy and install. But over time, it deteriorates and is likely to cause flooding in the home if not inspected or replaced. When I conduct an inspection on a home and find Poly B, there's lots to consider if you are looking to purchase.
The many typical risks associated with Poly B waterlines are flooding, increased insurance premiums, cancelled insurance coverage and insane deductibles, as well as mold infestations caused by undetected pinhole leaks within waterlines covered by drywall.
These risks extend beyond damage to your home. More and more mortgage lenders are refusing to lend money for properties with Poly B waterlines, meaning it can be very hard to sell homes with this form of piping. Normally real estate agents leave it up to buyers and sellers to negotiate terms of Poly B replacement, so if you are planning to sell, we would recommend looking into this first! And if we've discovered Poly B, it's worth some investigation to find out whether repiping can be done, and if you can find an insurance company willing to cover you.
Recently, a member of our association had a deductible increase from $200 to $5,000 for her Poly B (with copper fittings), even though she had never had an insurance claim.
There is no clear cut answer to any Poly B plumbing risks. All insurers have their own individual underwriting regulations regarding what they will and will not insure. Some insurers will want to inspect prior to insuring, some insurers will decline to insure, while others will insure subject to other various criteria, ie) age.
HIABC as an association has done some reearch, and have been able to find insurers to cover these dwellings but they may have a higher rate. Unfortunately, there are no book rates we can look at for Poly B, the insurance companies review all of the information we submit to them and then they let us know the rating. It really is case by case.
In summary, there are markets that will insure, but premium and deductibles will vary between insurers.
High Value Homeowners Markets:
Our high value markets generally do not ask about type of plumbing however at the time of appraisal there would likely be recommendations and/or requirements with regard to polyb. I have not seen any deductible increases because of polyb at this point. If there has been a water damage claim our insurers are asking that a water mitigation system be installed that is monitored with automatic water shut off.
I guess the long and short of this is that in some way shape or form all insurance companies are concerned about polyb and are taking some kind of action.
Standard Homeowners Markets:
Most of our standard markets are still accepting homes with poly b plumbing as long as there haven’t been any recent claims/issues.
Some will apply higher deductibles at inception. Some will decline to renew with water coverage if there is a claim and some will require that all the poly b plumbing be replaced in order to renew if there has been a claim.
I know that this is not a clear black and white answer, each of the insurers rate and either write or decline coverage based on their own parameters. It clearly is an issue where you can get coverage if you have had no claims however you are more restricted as to the number of companies will offer you a quote if you have Poly B. This may mean you pay higher rates as there is less competition for your business when you have Poly B.
It seems there no clear answer on this question and we just need to meet duty of care to ensure clients are aware.
Poly B pipe failure has been a nightmare for MANY homeowners throughout the lower mainland. Don’t let Poly B failures cost you THOUSANDS of dollars in property damage, or worse destroy your items with sentimental value that CAN NOT be replaced. Instead be proactive and save yourself the headache! . Whether it is for a complete repipe or helping you to prolong the lifespan of your Poly B while you begin to budget for a repipe, meeting with a reputable supplier will help prevent water damage to your most prized possessions that you have worked hard to attain!
It's one of those times when I use the term "Further Evaluation by a professional tradesperson or consultant is recommended."