# Electrical inspection for insurance in San Francisco > Electrical inspection for insurance in San Francisco: tested findings on knob and tube, the panel and protection, written for what your insurer asked. URL: https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/electrical-inspection-for-insurance/ **Service** Tested, written findings on knob and tube, the panel and circuit protection, shaped to the questions an insurer or broker has asked. Last Updated: October 30, 2026 **Where** San Francisco and the East Bay: Berkeley, Oakland, Alameda and Piedmont. **Local rules** - An electrical permit from DBI before new wiring goes in, then a pre-cover and a final inspection.San Francisco Electrical Code 89.127 - A separate permit for each dwelling unit, except in single-family (R-3) buildings.DBI fee schedule - Only owner-occupants of a single-family home may pull their own electrical permit.SF Department of Building Inspection - No insulation around concealed knob and tube without a licensed electrical contractor's certification.California Electrical Code 394.12 - Up to $2,000 toward active knob and tube for income-qualified PG&E customers in an EASE Home project.BayREN [Fog City SF Knob and Tube](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/) arranges electrical inspections for insurance in San Francisco and the East Bay: every circuit is tested, and the findings on knob and tube, the panel and circuit protection are written up to answer what your insurer or broker asked. Licensed and insured electrical contractors (California C-10) do the testing and write the findings. They write as electrical contractors, not as home inspectors or engineers, and no inspection can promise that a carrier will write or renew a policy. This page is about the insurer’s question. The broader [knob and tube inspection](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/knob-and-tube-inspection/) is the scope-finding evaluation that maps a house before you decide what to do with it. The testing is the same; what differs is the reader, the questions the written findings answer, and what usually happens next. ## Why insurers ask about the wiring Underwriters ask about knob and tube because it is old, ungrounded, often altered by later work and hard to see. A Bay Area broker told ABC7 News that if knob and tube goes on an application, “we are going to get declined.” The City of Berkeley states in its energy ordinance materials that many insurance providers will not issue or renew homeowner policies for houses with active knob and tube wiring. The same ABC7 report quoted San Francisco Fire Department investigators saying the department has not seen trends in knob and tube residential fires, which is why the useful question is what is live in a particular house, not how old it is. San Francisco’s own permit records show insurance driving work. Of 2,023 DBI electrical permits filed from January 2016 to October 2026 whose descriptions name knob and tube, 30 cite an insurer, with wording such as “knob and tube wiring removal for insurance purposes.” California FAIR Plan residential policies across San Francisco ZIP codes rose from 335 in September 2021 to 1,861 in September 2025. The FAIR Plan publishes no reasons by policy, so that rise covers every cause, not only wiring. ## What happens on the first visit The visit starts with the insurer’s letter or form, if there is one. Carriers word their questions differently: one asks whether any knob and tube is present, another whether it is active, another wants the panel type or a plan to replace it. Reading that first means the testing answers the question that was asked. Then every circuit is tested and traced from the panel or fuse box, and each one is recorded as active knob and tube, disconnected knob and tube, later wiring, or a mix of the two. The panel or fuse box is recorded as found, with the size of each fuse or breaker against the wire it protects. The attic, basement, crawlspace and garage are walked to note visible condition, splices, junction boxes and any insulation lying over live runs. Nothing is disturbed to get a better look. ## What underwriters ask, and what homeowners report The California Department of Insurance’s consumer guides do not address knob and tube, and carriers set and change their own underwriting rules, so the questions vary. Homeowners report a few that recur. Is any knob and tube present, and is it active? How many circuits, and in which rooms? Has it been altered, or is it “unmolested,” in one Oakland owner’s words? What kind of panel is there? Is replacement planned, and by when? Homeowners also report carriers offering a policy on condition that the wiring be replaced within a short window, around 60 days in one account, and others that would not insure any knob and tube at all. Two habits make the inspection more useful. Answer only what was asked, and answer it exactly; an overstated “no knob and tube” can cause more trouble later than an accurate “two circuits remain active.” And keep the full findings even if the carrier wants only a one-line answer, because the next carrier, a buyer or a lender may ask a different question. ## What written findings can and cannot state Written findings can state which circuits were tested and what each runs on, which knob and tube is active and which is disconnected, the panel and protection found, and the condition of what could be seen. They can describe a disconnected run as disconnected at both ends when that was verified. They can say which spaces could not be reached. They cannot certify concealed wiring nobody could see, declare a house safe, or speak for the carrier. They are not a home inspection, an engineering report or a permit inspection. If a form asks for a statement that testing cannot support, the right answer is to say so rather than sign it. The [California insurance guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-insurance-california/) explains how carriers, brokers and the FAIR Plan fit together. ## When the answer is work, the permit final is the proof Often the findings lead to work. Live knob and tube may be replaced through [partial replacement](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/partial-knob-and-tube-replacement/) or [whole-house rewiring](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/whole-house-rewiring/); dead runs may be disconnected and taken out through [knob and tube removal](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/knob-and-tube-removal/). Either way, the strongest document for an insurer afterwards is not a letter but the paper trail of permitted work. That trail has three parts. DBI’s electrical permit names the scope, the pre-cover and final inspections show the city inspected it, and the Certificate to Connect Current, the Green Tag, follows the final. The written circuit record and labeled panel directory then show circuit by circuit what was replaced. After a partial job, the record must also say exactly what knob and tube remains, because a carrier that later finds an old circuit nobody mentioned will treat the whole file differently. ## The three certifications people mean “Knob and tube certification” means different documents to different people, and the comparison table further down sets them side by side. An insurer’s letter describes findings. The California Electrical Code’s insulation exception is narrower: insulation may envelop concealed knob and tube only where a California-licensed electrical contractor surveys the wiring and certifies it is in good condition, without deterioration, improper overcurrent protection, or improper connections or splices, and the certification is filed with the building department with a copy to the owner. No San Francisco DBI form for that certification was found; Berkeley has its own, Form #146, covered on the [Berkeley page](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/service-areas/berkeley/). The third is BayREN’s EASE Home certification that knob and tube is inactive, for which BayREN announced a $300 rebate for eligible households (confirm with BayREN that it is still offered), described on the [removal page](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/knob-and-tube-removal/) and in the [BayREN rebate guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-rebate-bayren/). ## Deadlines, the FAIR Plan and a sale The California Department of Insurance says that after a policy’s first 60 days an insurer may cancel only for reasons the law sets, and that a non-renewal needs written notice at least 75 days before the policy ends, with the reason stated. That window is the practical deadline for testing, and for permitted work if the findings call for it. The FAIR Plan describes itself as the insurer of last resort when no other option is reasonably available, after a broker’s diligent search of the regular market, and its policies cover basic fire, with Difference in Conditions policies from other insurers filling gaps. The [non-renewal article](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/blog/insurance-non-renewal-knob-and-tube/) walks through the sequence. On a sale, the wiring question moves to the buyer. A San Francisco agent told the Chronicle that insurance is now often a contingency of the purchase, and another told ABC7 that without insurance the lender will not approve the mortgage. Sellers who test first can disclose accurately, and buyers can book an inspection during their contingency period; the [buying guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/buying-a-house-with-knob-and-tube/) and [selling guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/selling-a-house-with-knob-and-tube/) cover each side. **Scope** ## What's included - A read of the insurer's or broker's letter or form before the visit, so the testing answers what was asked - A test of every circuit, recording which still run on knob and tube and which do not - A record of the panel or fuse box, its overcurrent protection and the service as found - Notes on visible condition, splices and insulation contact in the attic, basement and garage - Written findings that state what was tested, what was seen and what could not be reached - Answers on the carrier's own form where its questions can be answered from the findings - When work follows, a written circuit record, a labeled panel directory and the DBI permit final to show it was done **Choosing the scope** ## Three documents people call a knob and tube certification | Compare | Insurer letter or form | Insulation certification | BayREN inactivity certification | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Who asks for it | An insurer, broker or lender | The code, before insulation goes over concealed knob and tube | BayREN's EASE Home program | | What it states | What is live, what is disconnected and the condition found | That the wiring is in good condition, with no deterioration, improper protection or bad splices | That the knob and tube is inactive | | Where it goes | To the carrier | Filed with the building department, with a copy to the owner | To BayREN with the electrician's invoice | | Rule behind it | The carrier's own underwriting | California Electrical Code 394.12 exception | EASE Home program terms | | Money toward it | None found | None found | $300 announced by BayREN for eligible households; confirm it is still offered | | Guarantees the outcome | No; the carrier decides | No; the building department may still inspect | No; BayREN decides eligibility | **Read next** ## Related resources - [Decision GuideCan you insure a house with knob and tube in California?Getting a carrier to accept the house and getting anyone to pay for the work are separate questions. This guide takes them one at a time.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-insurance-california/) - [Decision GuideShould you buy a house with knob and tube wiring?Plenty of San Francisco buyers do. The ones who come out ahead settle insurance, test the wiring and price the work before their contingencies run out.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/buying-a-house-with-knob-and-tube/) - [Decision GuideCan you sell a house with knob and tube wiring?The law asks sellers for an advisory, not a rewire. The buyer's insurer is what sets the terms, and the records you bring decide how that conversation goes.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/selling-a-house-with-knob-and-tube/) - [Cost GuideIs there a knob and tube rebate in the Bay Area?One regional program pays toward knob and tube work, and only as part of an energy upgrade. Here is what it pays, who qualifies and what the paperwork needs.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-rebate-bayren/) **How a job runs** ## From the first call to the Green Tag. ### First call Tell us what started this: an insurer's letter, an inspection report, a remodel, an attic you want to insulate. The age of the house, the number of units and any deadline shape the next step. ### Walk-through Circuits are tested to separate live knob and tube from abandoned runs, and attic, basement and garage access is checked. Plaster, trim and finishes are noted, and you get a written scope and price. ### The work The permit is filed with DBI. New cable is fished along the planned routes and openings are kept small. The pre-cover inspection happens before anything is closed. ### Patching, inspection and the Green Tag Once the pre-cover inspection passes, the openings are patched. Plaster patching is included and shown as its own line in the quote. After the final inspection and the Green Tag, old runs are removed or terminated and the panel directory is updated. **On the job** ## What this work looks like An old fuse box with four screw-in plug fuses on the wall of a San Francisco basement Close view of cracked, brittle cloth insulation on an old conductor beside a porcelain knob An electric meter and service mast on the painted wood side wall of an older San Francisco house A closed manila folder, a pen and a plug-in outlet tester on a dining table by a window **Questions** ## Electrical inspection for insurance: questions ### Will an insurer accept an electrician's letter about knob and tube? Some do and some do not, and no letter can promise it. Homeowners report carriers that accepted written findings from an electrician, carriers that wanted proof the old circuits were untouched, and one that would not insure knob and tube even after a clean inspection. The carrier makes its own decision; the letter gives it accurate facts to decide on. ### What goes into an insurance electrical report on an older house? Which circuits still run on knob and tube and which have been replaced or disconnected, the panel or fuse box and its protection, visible condition, splices and insulation contact in reachable spaces, and a plain list of what could not be reached. Where an insurer sends its own form, the answers come from those findings. ### Can the insurance inspection be done after the knob and tube is replaced? Yes, and that is often the stronger document. After replacement, the written circuit record, the labeled panel directory and DBI's final inspection with the Certificate to Connect Current, the Green Tag, show what was replaced and that the city inspected it. A partial job's record also has to say what knob and tube remains. ### Is an inspection report the same as a knob and tube certification? Not always. An insurer's letter describes what was found. The California Electrical Code's insulation certification states the wiring is in good condition so insulation may cover it, and is filed with the building department. BayREN's certification states the knob and tube is inactive. Ask the requester which one they mean. ### How soon should I book an inspection after a non-renewal notice? As soon as you can. The California Department of Insurance says a non-renewal needs written notice at least 75 days before the policy ends, with the reason. If the findings lead to replacement, that work needs a DBI permit and a pre-cover inspection before walls close, so testing early leaves the most room to act. **Related services** ## Other work on the same wiring ### Knob and tube inspection Every circuit traced and tested, live runs separated from dead ones, and findings that say plainly what was tested and what was only seen. ### Knob and tube removal Dead and abandoned runs verified, disconnected at both ends, taken out where reachable and recorded, so nobody mistakes them for live wiring later. ### Whole-house rewiring Every old branch circuit replaced, new circuits added where the house needs them, and the panel sized for the load.