Why is my home at extreme risk of electrical fire according to my insurance company – Advice from Electriman, North London Electricians

Insurance companies use a range of data to assess fire risk in a property. If yours has come back as extreme risk, it almost certainly relates to the age or condition of your electrical installation. Here is what that actually means in plain terms and what you should do about it.

Why insurers flag electrical fire risk

Your insurer may have used the age of your property, previous claims data, or a survey report to assign a risk rating. The most common reasons a home is rated as extreme electrical fire risk include having a consumer unit (fuse board) that is more than 25 years old, using rewirable fuse wire instead of modern circuit breakers, having no RCD protection on socket or lighting circuits, having outdated wiring such as rubber-insulated cables which degrade over time, having had previous electrical work done without certification, or having received an EICR report with Category 1 or Category 2 faults noted.

What you can safely check yourself

Look at your consumer unit. If it is a cream or brown plastic box with individual fuse carriers that take fuse wire, it is almost certainly obsolete. If there are no RCD devices visible, which are the switches with a Test button on them, you have no automatic protection against electric shock or many types of fault that cause fires. Do not open any panels or touch any wiring.

What an EICR is and why you need one

An Electrical Installation Condition Report is a formal inspectio

Need a qualified electrician in North London?

Electriman covers Mill Hill, Barnet, Finchley, Edgware, Enfield, Watford and surrounding areas. All work is Part P certified and fully insured.