Tennessee · The inspection the carrier orders
What a home insurance inspection is looking for
An insurance inspection checks whether the house you described is the house they are being asked to insure. It is not the inspection you paid for before you bought, and it is not the lender’s appraisal. The carrier wants the roof, the hazards, and the condition. The result can support the quote, require a repair, change a deductible, or end the policy.
Context: Tennessee homeowners and dwelling coverage.
Three inspections people mix up
| Inspection | What it decides |
|---|---|
| Buyer’s home inspection | Systems and defects so you can negotiate the purchase. A clean report does not mean the roof is young enough for every carrier. |
| Insurance inspection | Insurability. Roof age and condition, occupancy, hazards such as a trampoline or a pool, trees on the roof, and whether Coverage A is in the range of a rebuild. Exterior photos are common. Some visits are only exterior. Some include the electrical panel, plumbing, and HVAC. |
| Appraisal | Market value for the loan. Market value includes land. The policy insures the building. An appraisal figure is not a dwelling limit. |
What they photograph, and why it matters
The roof is first. Missing shingles, a sagging deck, and an age past the carrier’s cutoff are eligibility issues, not decorating notes. Many carriers will not write a roof past a stated age, or they will write it only at actual cash value, which pays replacement cost minus depreciation.
Older electrical is the inside item that most often becomes a repair demand. Certain panels, including Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and some Zinsco-style panels, show up on underwriting lists because of a history of breakers that fail to trip. Aluminum branch wiring is another flag. The inspector is not redesigning the house. They are deciding whether the fire risk matches the application. Active leaks, a missing handrail, and a trampoline or pool that was not disclosed do the same job for liability.
Flood is not solved by a passing inspection. A homeowners policy still does not cover flood. Tennessee flood insurance.
What the letter means after the visit
- Accept. The policy stays as quoted. Keep the photos. They are a baseline if you have a claim later.
- Repair requirement. You get a deadline to fix a stated item, often a roof repair, a panel, or a hazard removed. Missing the deadline is how a new policy is canceled or a renewal is refused. The letter is specific on purpose. Do the item it names.
- Different terms. The carrier may keep you and move the roof to actual cash value, raise a deductible, or add a surcharge. That is a coverage change. Read it before you assume you still have replacement cost.
- Decline or non-renew. Serious condition or a misstated application. You then need another market, not an argument that the buyer’s inspection was fine.
Coverage that an inspection does not add back: common gaps. Tennessee product pages: Tennessee insurance.
Occupancy, dogs, and what “subject to inspection” means
Binding a policy subject to inspection means coverage starts, and the carrier can still change or cancel it after the photos come back, inside the time the form and state rules allow. Do not treat the binder as the final word. If the house is vacant, say so. Vacancy restrictions on theft and water are in the form. An inspector who finds an empty house you described as occupied is a misrepresentation problem, not a paperwork quibble.
A dog with a bite history, a pool without a fence, and a business run from the garage are liability facts. They do not always void the policy. They do change whether the carrier will keep it, and whether that exposure is excluded. Disclose them on the application. An inspection that discovers them later is a worse conversation than the application was.
