{"id":905932,"date":"2026-07-23T16:16:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T22:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=905932"},"modified":"2026-07-23T16:16:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T22:16:17","slug":"insurance-claims-what-home-age-actually-tells-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/insurance-claims-what-home-age-actually-tells-us\/","title":{"rendered":"What Home Age Actually Tells Us About Claims \u2014 And What It Doesn\u2019t"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Andrew Leeds | Claims Journal<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 20 years in homeowner claims, I\u2019ve heard the same assumption so many times it\u2019s practically folklore: older homes cost more to insure because repairs cost more. That\u2019s not entirely wrong, but the real story is more specific \u2014 and more useful \u2014 than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The distinction matters because America\u2019s housing stock is only getting older. According to U.S. Census data analyzed by the\u00a0National Association of Home Builders<\/a>, nearly half (48%) of owner-occupied homes were built before 1980. With more homeowners living in older houses, it\u2019s worth taking a closer look at what home age actually tells us about claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what our claims data actually shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the typical claim, home age barely matters. Looking at non-catastrophe claims that closed with a payment last year, the median paid loss hovered around $9,000 regardless of when the house was built. A burst water line, wind-damaged siding, a contained kitchen fire \u2014 those everyday losses cost roughly the same whether the home was built last decade or a century ago. What changes with age isn\u2019t the typical loss. It\u2019s the worst ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homes built in 1940 or earlier show average paid losses roughly twice as high as homes from the 1980s and 90s. That gap isn\u2019t because old homes produce more claims \u2014 it\u2019s because when they have a bad loss, it tends to be very bad. Pre-1940 homes in our book are about twice as likely to generate a six-figure loss as newer construction. And even though these older homes don\u2019t dominate our claim count, they represent a disproportionately large share of total dollars paid out. The reason the average loss looks so much higher than the typical claim is that a small number of very expensive losses pull the number up. Most claims are routine. A handful are not. Old homes have more of the handful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why This Matters for The Agent Conversation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The practical implication for agents and brokers is in how you set expectations with clients who own older homes \u2014 particularly pre-1940 stock. The premium customers are paying isn\u2019t primarily covering the routine claim. It\u2019s covering the exposure that lives in those severe, infrequent events: the significant fire loss, the water event that cascades through plaster walls and original hardwood and a basement full of mechanical systems that haven\u2019t been touched in decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clients sometimes push back on pricing for a home they consider well-maintained. It\u2019s a fair instinct \u2014 they\u2019ve put money into the kitchen, the bathrooms, the roof. But the age of the underlying structure is a separate conversation from the condition of the visible surfaces. Method of construction\/construction materials also plays a big role \u2014 balloon construction, insulation type, wiring, asbestos, lead, etc., all come into play when a big loss happens, and these make the big losses worse \u2014 but these are the things you can\u2019t see. Agents who understand this, and can explain it plainly, are the ones having a more honest conversation about what insurance is actually for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Few Honest Caveats<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with any claims analysis, scope matters. The findings presented here are limited to severity, not frequency. They tell us how losses differ when claims occur, but not whether homes of different ages are more or less likely to generate claims. The analysis is also based on a single Northeast-weighted, non-catastrophe, closed-year book. We have not isolated other variables correlated with home age, such as location, insured value, coverage and deductible structure, or square footage. As a result, some of what appears to be an age effect may be attributable to those factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s driving the severity in older homes \u2014 original roofing systems, aging plumbing, outdated electrical, asbestos, and lead \u2014 is the logical next question and one worth studying. This analysis shows where the dollars concentrate. Explaining exactly why, at a structural level, is a separate exercise, though after 20 years I\u2019ll admit the likely explanations aren\u2019t hard to guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bottom Line<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Older housing stock isn\u2019t a uniform claims problem. It\u2019s a tail problem \u2014 meaning the risk lives in a small number of large, expensive events rather than in the everyday claim. When old homes have losses, they tend to be expensive, and those losses concentrate in ways that matter for how we price, reserve, and talk to clients about coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For carriers and agents, that distinction matters. It helps explain why premiums, underwriting decisions, and coverage recommendations can differ even when two homes appear equally well maintained. The data suggests that home age is less about the cost of the typical claim and more about the potential for unusually expensive outcomes. Recognizing that distinction leads to better pricing decisions, better client conversations and a clearer understanding of the risk being insured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

When one of your cases is in need of a construction expert, estimates, insurance appraisal or umpire services in defect or insurance disputes – please call Advise & Consult, Inc. at 801.641.8304, or email experts@adviseandconsult.net<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Andrew Leeds | Claims Journal After 20 years in homeowner claims, I\u2019ve heard the same assumption so many times it\u2019s practically folklore: older homes cost more to insure because repairs cost more. That\u2019s not entirely wrong, but the real story is more specific \u2014 and more useful \u2014 than that. The distinction matters because America\u2019s… Continue reading What Home Age Actually Tells Us About Claims \u2014 And What It Doesn\u2019t<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10721],"tags":[9895,22],"class_list":["post-905932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insurance","tag-advise-consult","tag-insurance","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Home Age Actually Tells Us About Claims \u2014 And What It Doesn\u2019t - 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