insurance on stoves

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
G

gonefishin

Member
Apr 8, 2011
31
Northeast Ohio
I did not think of this too other day in talking with others

1. Do you have to tell your insurance company you are having a new wood burner installed?



2 Does it Change cost ofthe premium much?
 
Read your policy. Then ask the company. Be ready to tell them the stove information such as make and model and be able to read them the label on the back of the stove. If you mislead them about material facts, it may give them an out on paying a claim. I am not in the insurance business, but in general it is good that both parties to a contract keep each other informed.
 
I switched insurance companies a while back and was asked what my primary heat source was. I told the lady wood heat. I asked her if that made my premium go up. She said it did. I don't think it made it go up much though.
 
gonefishin said:
I did not think of this too other day in talking with others

1. Do you have to tell your insurance company you are having a new wood burner installed?

YES

2 Does it Change cost ofthe premium much?


Maybe
Click to expand...


I would absolutely let the insurance know !!! God forbid you have a house fire because of it and they say you aren't covered because you never told us.

For me I needed to get them make and model and who installed it, since it was not a DIY. No adjustment to premiums.

Shawn
 
Some Insurance companies charge extra and others like State Farm do not. But you absolutely want to let them know and confirm that you are covered. Some will even send out an inspector to look at it.
 
My insurance agent cam over to look at the wood stove and lit up and said no problem. No increase in price. Did the same on my gas coal stove but asked for the name model # Lab test results being imported from Britin. He did not know how to write if for the insurance company. His office help knew how to seeing she knew about the gas coal afeect stoves. Her parents are from . Briton.
 
Let them know. I changed companies also and had to sign a questionaire that I filled out about my insert and the installation. I also had to provide pic's.
The new company was half the cost of the old with a major bump in the liability coverage compared to the old company.

They work of off the probability that a loss can occur. If you installed to code you should be fine since code would require the correct parts and installation, reducing the chances of a claim and payout on their part.
If it does go up I bet it would be a minimal amount.
 
I just heard back from my insurance company, I have to fill out a questionnaire and they charge a $50.00 fee per year added to homeowners policy.
 
gonefishin said:
I did not think of this too other day in talking with others

1. Do you have to tell your insurance company you are having a new wood burner installed? Yes . . . I think you'll find most policies would consider this to be required. Failure to do so could possibly result in denial of a claim . . . or at least an alteration in claim. For example, my parents put in an outdoor wood boiler and did not notify their insurance company that they did so . . . insurance company ended up denying them the full replacement value on the home . . .but "generously" gave them a set financial amount for a pay off after their wood boiler caught their house on fire.

2 Does it Change cost ofthe premium much? Depends . . . some insurance companies will have a large increase in the premium while some will have none. In the same vein, some insurance companies don't do much at all while others may require inspections, professional installations, etc.
Click to expand...
 
mine sent out someone to inspect (diy) $25 increase
 
My insu. co just wanted to see proof of inspection, NO increase of premium.
Maybe you should shop around for a new insu. co.
 
My insurance company (whom I love) stated it was no problem to have one installed post purchase, but that they wouldn't offer to insure a home that had an existing stove installed at time of purchase.

It was an interesting clarification - I think they basically accepted that modern code was acceptable but that they wouldn't want to insure something that may or may not have met some previous code.
 
Mine wanted pics and I gave them more details than they cared for, but the agent said "we don't see the difference between a fire in a furnance and a fire in a stove- they both do the same thing" - no premium change. Grainge insurance - so far good to work with.
 
WES999 said:
My insu. co just wanted to see proof of inspection, NO increase of premium.
Maybe you should shop around for a new insu. co.
Click to expand...


Ditto here.

USAA did not raise my premium when I disclosed my insert installation. I was pleasantly surprised.
 
Tell your insurance company. My town requires a permit and fire department insepection. Had I not done it, I would not have been covered in teh event of a fire. The insurance company also sent out someone to inspect the installation. One questions I was asked is if wood is my primary heat- the inspector from the insurance company informed me that "It is not- you only burn 30 days a year"- who was i to disagree????
 
i have usaa also, thats good news, i need to install 2 of them this summer.
 
greythorn3 said:
i have usaa also, thats good news, i need to install 2 of them this summer.
Click to expand...

I told USAA about the woodstove in the cabin, but they said they really didn't need to know. It didn't change the premium. I'm not sure if they even made a note of it (although they are very good at keeping records of conversations, so it was probably just noted as the subject of the call).
 
The insurance company also sent out someone to inspect the installation. One questions I was asked is if wood is my primary heat- the inspector from the insurance company informed me that “It is not- you only burn 30 days a yearâ€- who was i to disagree????
Click to expand...

So...if your house burns down and they can prove (now) that you burn more than 30 days a year, and have been all along, do they have to pay?

I think I'd look very hard into that one!
Under the table deals seldom work out in the long run, especially if smelly things hit the fan...
Lets see...my career with the insurance company, or some shmuck who is obviously a liar...hmmm, I think I'll keep my job!

Um your honor, I never said that...

Rob
 
Even though my oil boiler is shut off right now, it is still my "primary" heat source. My town still has it listed on my tax assessment card and if I sold the house I'd assume the buyers would use it to provide heat, since its still fully functional. Just because I have a wood insert that happens to be enough to fully heat my house does not make it the "primary" heat source.

Back on topic, when I installed my insert I pulled a permit, the town inspector came out and signed it off, that was all my insurance company wanted, no increase in premium either.
 
My Insurance, Pekin, has an inspector coming to my house tomorrow to inspect my new Hampton in the kitchen. I will let you all know how that goes. The surcharge is $45 per year. They do not, and have not charged for my insert. They don't care whether you have an insert or not ??????? Strange.
 
My insurance company (Allstate) said because I already had a wood burning fireplace, there would be no premium increase for an insert. She also said they consider free standing stoves a "no-no". It's nice to know I was already being charged all these years for something I've never used, the fireplace. Just had my insert put in this year.
 
egclassic said:
My insurance company (Allstate) said because I already had a wood burning fireplace, there would be no premium increase for an insert. She also said they consider free standing stoves a "no-no". It's nice to know I was already being charged all these years for something I've never used, the fireplace. Just had my insert put in this year.
Click to expand...
I don't understand that " consider free standing stoves a "no-no"" I have been in the fire service for 33 years and been to many more fires caused by fire places and inserts than free standing wood stoves.
 
[/quote] I don't understand that " consider free standing stoves a "no-no"" I have been in the fire service for 33 years and been to many more fires caused by fire places and inserts than free standing wood stoves.[/quote]

That is a great point, is there somewhere that information can be obtained? It would be something to compare causes of house fires n see which type produces most house fires per year.
 
I don't understand that " consider free standing stoves a "no-no"" I have been in the fire service for 33 years and been to many more fires caused by fire places and inserts than free standing wood stoves. tfdchief
Click to expand...


That is a great point, is there somewhere that information can be obtained? It would be something to compare causes of house fires n see which type produces most house fires per year.
Click to expand...
[/quote]

Yes, the National Fire Incident Reporting System that all fire departments must report to, but I am not sure whether the distinction could be made between the two. Probably just fires from wood burning appliances would be the only stat you could get.
 
tfdchief said:
egclassic said:
My insurance company (Allstate) said because I already had a wood burning fireplace, there would be no premium increase for an insert. She also said they consider free standing stoves a "no-no". It's nice to know I was already being charged all these years for something I've never used, the fireplace. Just had my insert put in this year.
Click to expand...
I don't understand that " consider free standing stoves a "no-no"" I have been in the fire service for 33 years and been to many more fires caused by fire places and inserts than free standing wood stoves.
Click to expand...

Hey, I don't write the policies, just sayin what my insurance agent told me when I called to let them know I was getting an insert installed.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

H
Homeowners Insurance references
Replies
6
Views
498
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
huntview
H
S
Insurance companies can be a real pain.
Replies
1
Views
701
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
Garbanzo62
G
K
The saga continues…
Replies
19
Views
985
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
BillBurns
BillBurns
F
To Upgrade or to not upgrade my stove, that is the question?
Replies
10
Views
811
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
bigealta
bigealta
Macroman
Chimney Brand vs Meets CAN/ULC S629 Approval
Replies
11
Views
1K
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
jjam
J
Top Bottom
Back