Insurance coverage for radiant floor?

[jayoldschool]

The new house I am moving into has radiant heat in both the garage and the basement. The garage is 40x32. My insurance says they need to know a replacement value for the radiant floor system. The heating of the water (basement) and the glycol (garage) is done by the main system oil heater, so that will be covered under the HVAC equipment in case of loss. I guess they need the value of the tubing and labour to install. Any guesses for me on how much tubing and the cost to lay it? My blueprints state that the tubes are on 12" grid. I don't think the tubes would be a loss in a fire, but they want numbers anyway.

How has everyone else dealt with this on insurance?

 

[swgray]

I don't think the tubes would be a loss in a fire, but they want numbers anyway.

How has everyone else dealt with this on insurance?

They will be if they melt down/burn off to the floor level.

No, I've never dealt with this on my insurance.

 

[jayoldschool]

A place quoted me 10K today for replacement value. That excludes the wire mesh. That sounds crazy high to me. I am going to calculate the length of tubing, and price it myself, then give that to the insurance co.

 

[PAToyota]

Just remember that replacement includes all the expense to remove the existing slab to get at the piping... Without totally destroying the rest of your house... Hopefully...

 

[Franz©]

Having known a few good insurance agents over the years they have all told me the same thing, NEVER give a carrier an estimated replacement cost when a new policy is being written. First the carrier gets to charge premium based on your estimate, and second, the carrier gets to limit payout based on your estimate and their schedule of depreciation. It's the carrier's job to employ actuarys who know the costs, and they damn well will when a claim is made.

Homeowners insurance is rated on the basis of the cellar remaining undamaged even in a total loss fire. Worst case, if your PEX burns off at the floorline, the contractor will dig up about 4 square feet of concrete and be able to repair the PEX. That ain't 10Grand. Whoever gave you the estimate is either a fool or thinks you're a fool who will pay to jack the entire floor out and replace it and the PEX.

Tell the insurer you honestly don't know, and let them get their own figure. Then shop around for an insurer who knows what the hell they are doing.

 

[Freejack]

I am not so sure I would be willing reuse a concrete slab that has been subject an intense fire, especially if a vehicle happened to be involved. I believe that if, god forbid, such an event occured, that it would be a total loss and that you'd need to start from scratch.

Either way, I concure that I would ask the insurance company to work up the replacement cost, based on specs of the structure, not what it did/would cost you to build the structure.

Jake

 

[jayoldschool]

Thanks, guys. I have spoken to my agent, and it will be noted that the house and garage have radiant floor. If there is a claim, they will take care of the process of costing the material/labour.

 

[gesoffen]

Had a fire in my neighborhood. It didn't totally demolish the structure or basement but it was enough that the Fire Marshall condemed it and had it torn down with in a couple of days of the fire.

They recently finished the construction of the house. During the reconstruction, they demo'd the seemingly intact concrete foundation and rebuilt it. I was a little surprised but the info (through the rumor mill, mind you) was that the combination of high heat and water used to put out the fire are likely to cause an unstable foundation (lots of micro cracks and chemical changes to the concrete).