Glendale home insurance
Much of Glendale was built between the 1960s and the 1980s, and the three things that decide a quote here are all a consequence of that: the panel, the roof, and who is in the house.
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Ask about writing home and auto together — most carriers discount both.
Prefer to send it in writing? Scroll down →Top three things to consider on a Glendale house
- 1
The electrical panel can decide the whole quote
Houses from this era sometimes carry panel brands with a known failure history — Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco are the two that come up — and a number of carriers decline a property outright rather than rate for them. Aluminum branch wiring from the same period raises its own question. The panel brand and the service size are findable from an inspection report or from a look in the garage, and knowing them before the call is the difference between a placement and a decline.
- 2
Flat and low-slope roofs are on a recoat cycle, not a replacement cycle
A great deal of West Valley housing from this period has a flat or low-slope roof with sprayed polyurethane foam, which needs recoating periodically rather than replacing. An overdue recoat reads to an underwriter the way a worn shingle roof does. Where the house has tile instead, the question is when the underlayment beneath it was last replaced, because the tile outlives it by decades. Either way, bring the date.
- 3
Hail is infrequent here and not unknown
The October 2010 storm that crossed the north and west valley produced one of the costliest hail events in Arizona history, and it damaged roofs, skylights, air conditioning condensers and parked vehicles across exactly this part of the metro. Hail on a house is covered; hail on a car is comprehensive rather than collision. Worth checking whether your policy pays roof damage at replacement cost or on a depreciated schedule by age, because on an older roof that is most of the roof.
The Agua Fria, New River and the canal
Flood is excluded from every standard homeowners policy. In Glendale the relevant water is the Agua Fria and New River channels, the Arizona Canal and the laterals off it, and the street and wash flooding that a monsoon cell produces anywhere in the valley — frequently outside a mapped high-risk zone. A property can take water twice in a decade and never appear on a flood map, which is why the question is the ground around the house rather than the map line.
Winter visitors, Sun City next door, and the house that sits empty
The West Valley has a high concentration of seasonal residents, and a house occupied three months a year is a different risk from one lived in year-round. A supply line that fails in July is discovered in November, and some policies restrict coverage on a dwelling left vacant beyond a stated period. Say how many months the house is occupied, and ask about a whole-house water shutoff or a leak sensor — several carriers credit them, and they cost a fraction of the claim.
Air conditioning, water heaters and the plumbing behind the wall
Condensers are a frequent claim here through hail, wind and copper theft, and they are also the thing most likely to simply fail from age — which is maintenance rather than a claim. A water heater in a 115-degree garage does not last as long as the label says. On a house of this age, ask what the supply plumbing is: galvanized steel and early plastics both raise underwriting questions and both produce the water claims that outnumber fire claims in this state.
Monsoon wind, block walls and the carport
Microbursts take down carports, patio covers, pool enclosures, mature trees and long runs of block wall. Wind is covered, and the interior water damage generally is too once the wind has opened the building. The walls and the detached structures come out of other-structures coverage at a default percentage of the dwelling limit, which on a lot with a full perimeter wall and a detached carport is usually below what rebuilding them would cost.
What the underwriter will ask about a Glendale house
- Year built, square footage, and the roof type
- When the foam was last recoated, or the tile underlayment last replaced
- The electrical panel brand and service size — specifically, not approximately
- Whether any aluminum branch wiring remains
- Supply plumbing material
- Age of the air conditioning units and the water heater
- Pool or spa and its barrier, plus any diving board, slide or trampoline
- Block wall length, carports and any other detached structure
- How many months a year the house is occupied
You can bundle home and auto on the same call
Most carriers write home and auto together and apply a multi-policy discount to both when they do. Renters and auto bundle the same way, so you do not have to own the place to get the credit. Ask what the discount comes to on each policy before you decide, and ask to line the two renewal dates up so you review everything once a year instead of twice.
If a vehicle sits unused for months while you are out of state, say so on the same call. There are better arrangements than paying full coverage on a car nobody is driving — and worse ones than keeping comprehensive on it through hail and monsoon season.
Frequently asked questions
Can an old electrical panel stop me getting home insurance?
It can. Some panel brands from the 1960s and 1970s have a known failure history and a number of carriers decline them outright rather than rate for them. Knowing the brand before you call is what lets a property be placed with a carrier that will write it.
What is a foam roof recoat and why does my insurer ask?
Sprayed polyurethane foam roofing is maintained by recoating on a cycle rather than by replacement. An overdue recoat reads to an underwriter the way a worn shingle roof does, so the date of the last recoat is one of the more useful facts you can have ready.
Is hail damage covered on my Glendale house?
Hail is a covered peril. How it pays on the roof depends on the terms — some policies settle older roofs on a depreciated schedule by age rather than at replacement cost. Ask which applies before a storm rather than after.
I am only here in the winter. Does that affect my policy?
Yes. Some policies restrict coverage on a dwelling left vacant past a stated period, and a slow leak in an empty house does far more damage than the same leak in an occupied one. Describe how the house is actually used.
Do I need flood insurance in Glendale?
Flood is excluded from your homeowners policy either way. Between the Agua Fria, New River, the canal system and ordinary monsoon street flooding, it is worth a direct conversation rather than a look at the flood map.
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