Brian Morton
Sun
PowerSafe founders Brian Cook (left) and Rick Pow (right) flank Michael Doebeli. Photograph by : Bill Keay, Vancouver Sun
University of B.C. mathematics professor Michael Doebeli faced a costly dilemma earlier this year, when his insurance company told him to either rewire his 70-year-old Vancouver home or lose coverage on his house.
The 45-year-old Doebeli did some checking around and was told he’d have to spend more than $20,000 to tear out the old “knob and tube” wiring — which his insurance company wouldn’t cover — and update it to current standards.
Doebeli looked elsewhere, but was only offered help by an insurance firm that specializes in older homes. However, the insurance would be costlier and the house would be covered for much less than what it was worth.
Instead, Doebeli turned to PowerSafe Inc., a new Vancouver company that specializes in inspecting older homes for electrical hazards — including the state of knob and tube wiring — and was told there was nothing wrong with the wiring, although the house had other electrical problems that needed correcting.
For $1,000, Doebeli fixed the problems and got his coverage through the B.C. Automobile Association, which recently started covering homes with knob and tube wiring providing they have been given the green light by an inspection.
“For me, this has worked out very well,” Doebeli said in an interview about his experience with PowerSafe, to which the BCAA refers clients for safety inspections and wiring upgrades, when needed. “It cost me $1,000 [for repairs] and my insurance is about 10 per cent more than it was. That’s a heck of a lot cheaper than $20,000.”
Doebeli said he managed to get house insurance when he bought his home in 1999, but that it was subsequently denied when the insurance company changed owners and its policy on knob and tube wiring — an ongoing problem, according to BCAA. The old-style electrical system includes porcelain insulating tubes that holds wires, while modern wiring usually runs through plastic or PVC tubes.]
Brian Cook, an electrician who started PowerSafe with partner Rick Pow, said in an interview that they formed their company after getting calls from people complaining they couldn’t get insurance coverage, even when there was nothing wrong with the old wiring.
Cook said he saw an opportunity because fewer and fewer companies are offering coverage and replacement wiring costs a minimum of $10,000. “We’re capitalizing on what we foresee as a weakness in the insurance industry. We’re providing a solution.
“They [insurance companies] are saying that any house older than 1950 with its original wiring is uninsurable. But their risk assessments aren’t accurate. I’m saying it may be safe and it may not be safe.”
Cook said many problems stem from rewiring done by unqualified people. “There are no dangers with knob and tube. The dangers are in the handyman add-ons.” He said PowerSafe offers a 50-point inspection for $250.
BCAA insurance product manager Brooke Hanson said that BCAA started insuring the old wiring in May and has had an excellent response from customers who couldn’t get coverage elsewhere.
Hanson said BCAA charges a bit more because they want to be a little cautious. “It [knob and tube] is not inherently dangerous, but there are still some unknowns because of its age.”
Citing Statistics Canada, BCAA said as many as 200,000 B.C. homes were built using knob and tube wiring.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006
