Hi- I am considering buy a house in CT- There is what I believe to be a 60 amp bus breaker and a 40 amp sub panel which I guess was installed when the previous owner installed central air. Can anyone look at this and tell me what I have here?

The insurance company wants to know what is in the house. In fact 2 companies said call them back when the bus breaker was upgraded. I know this set-up is not really adequate for the home of today, but I can't change it if I can buy it and I can't buy it if I can't insure.

I hope the pictures are helpful.

Looking at your pictures the panel beside your meter is your main service. These old fuse box panels of this size are usually 60 amp services. Make sure things are off in the house and pull the upper left fuse block. It should have 2 60 amp fuses in it. This block usually says " MAIN" on it. The upper right fuse block is usuall used for things like a stove,dryer,water heater or in this case probably the sub panel.

You should contact the utility company, they will tell you the rated service feed. It appears to be only 60 Amp but if they fed the other service feed for the breaker box from the main lug, it could be 100 Amp. The open door does not allow us to see how it is connected. I can see at least 1 240 breaker or more and I don't think 60 would handle that. I also think your insurance company would not insure a 60 Amp service today, most require a minimum of 100 Amp.

Have the current owner upgrade that mess as condition of sale.

I will agree, most insurance companies may have issues with this older of system, If I was buying the property, I would update this before I moved in.

Have the current owner upgrade that mess as condition of sale.Why should it be the seller's responsibility to upgrade the service? It is obviously OK for them now.

Insurance companies are a pain in the a$$. They demand certain things that are unreasonable or nearly impossible. This is one of the reasons so many folks put the irresponsible demand on sellers to do certain upgrades just to see a home. IMO this is extortion.

These old fuse box panels of this size are usually 60 amp services.Actually they are typically 100A services. Most lay folks think they are 60A because of the 60A lighting main fuses.
Both pull-out cartridges are mains. So these panels have a 50 or 60A "Lighting Main" and a 40-60A "Range Main".