Insurance Forcing Water Heater Replacement

[Wes Eaves]

I received a call from my insurance agent today telling me that I had to replace my working/non-leaking hot water heater in order for them to renew my policy.  They required a 4 point inspection to renew the policy, and based on the report, they determined the working/non-leaking hot water heater was a risk because of the age.  

The hot water heater is 21 years old, however, I had the tanked inspected, drained and flushed a few months ago by a licensed plumber and there were no leaks or other issues.

Can anyone provide a solution that would be satisfactory to an insurance company and won't require me to replace the existing hot water heater?  I'm in the Tampa Florida area if that matters for insurance purposes.

[Jon Holdman]

The problem with the "if it isn't broke don't fix it" approach to water heaters or roofs is that when they "break" you end up with severe damage.  Expecting the insurance company to pay out tens of thousands of damage because you wanted to squeeze another year or two out of an old water heater isn't very reasonable.

I've had a water heater fail.  Fortunately I was sitting nearby.  I thought perhaps the washer door hadn't closed fully.  Nope, water gushing out of the top of the water heater.  Had I not been there, we would have had a swimming pool in the basement.  Which we did have later during the Great Flood of September 2013.  So I'm well acquainted with the cost, time, and effort of cleaning up such a mess.  Replace the water heater.