Home insurance surcharge for wood stove?

[orenn89]

Hey guys so i am about to finish my wood stove installation and the insurance company told me it would be a 152 dollar surcharge for the stove, does this seem reasonable? Seems kinda steep to me, takes my policy up to 1300 something a year, for a 4 bed, 2.5 bath house in CT. What do you guys pay extra?
Also did you pull a permit and have the inspector inspect your install after you were done?

 

[Grisu]

Hey guys so i am about to finish my wood stove installation and the insurance company told me it would be a 152 dollar surcharge for the stove, does this seem reasonable? Seems kinda steep to me, takes my policy up to 1300 something a year, for a 4 bed, 2.5 bath house in CT. What do you guys pay extra?

That is about the top of the range that I have heard here so far (other than the company not insuring a woodburner at all). I pay a $25 surcharge but inserts are sometimes treated different than stoves. It does not hurt to shop around.

Also did you pull a permit and have the inspector inspect your install after you were done?

Depends on your local code and what the insurance requires. You could also do one voluntarily for peace of mind but there are enough inspectors out there that don't know much about wood stoves that you may do a better job with the info from your manual and asking questions here when unsure. Or get a certified sweep for an inspection: http://www.csia.org/search

 

[jrems]

Just shop around. I'm in ct too and I asked my insurance agent when I installed my stove if they need a copy of the inspection or permit and they said no and nothing will change with the price.

 

[orenn89]

Who do you guys have for insurance? I have geico and they do sub it out to homesite insurance company

 

[jrems]

I have liberty mutual.

 

[BamaRama]

USAA doesn't care.

 

[TheRambler]

Hey guys so i am about to finish my wood stove installation and the insurance company told me it would be a 152 dollar surcharge for the stove, does this seem reasonable? Seems kinda steep to me, takes my policy up to 1300 something a year, for a 4 bed, 2.5 bath house in CT. What do you guys pay extra?
Also did you pull a permit and have the inspector inspect your install after you were done?

That is steep in my opinion. My brother in law is a nationwide agent in CT, if your interested shoot me a pm and i can have him get ib touch with you. Might be able to save you some money.

 

[firefighterjake]

No surcharge with Travelers . . . I had to have the stove professionally installed, have the fire department do an inspection and submit a form . . . but no raised rates or surcharges.

 

[Regency139]

My insurance agent only needed a copy of the installers business license. No additional insurance cost increase.

 

[Ashful]

Like Grisu, I pay $25, and I have two stoves and a functional fireplace. State Farm.

 

[Ashful]

No surcharge with Travelers . . . I had to have the stove professionally installed, have the fire department do an inspection and submit a form . . . but no raised rates or surcharges.

So... you passed your own inspection?

 

[orenn89]

Thanks for the info guys, i thought the 152 surcharge sounded a bit much, ill do some shopping around. I am not having it professionally installed so when calling i guess I'll just say its already in.

 

[moey]

A lot of fire departments will come out they may not give you anything official but it may give you peace of mind and another set of eyes. I know our town does not have any inspection for stoves or permits required.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

Pulled a permit when we did new chimney in CT. Insurance Co got a copy of tje signed off final inspection by town. Made them happy.
Inspector didn't know squat, glad I did.

I hate Beurocratic bs, but when in doubt pull a permit. Can save ya a headache in the long run, sale of house, change of ins policy etc....

 

[Ashful]

My township is pretty loose with permitting. Did some major structural work on my barn, removing structural timber, adding a second floor, installed ridge beam and changed loading on existing structure... township didn't want to bother writing me a permit. Same with installation of second stove.

Unless that 4 bed 2.5 bath is over 8,000 sq.ft., you're paying a LOT for insurance, based on my local standards.

 

[moey]

A lot of towns dont have anyone to inspect anything around me. I guess I prefer that to someone who knows absolutely nothing inspecting something.

 

[firefighterjake]

So... you passed your own inspection?

Kinda . . . I had the Fire Chief show up and while his checklist was pretty good, I explained to him a few items that deviated from the list (i.e. clearance distances.)

 

[MishMouse]

For me Amfam told me either get rid of the stove or they will cancel my insurance.
Talked to other insurance companies and they do not have an issue with it aka; Farmers, Farm Bureau, State Farm, and Prairie to Pine.
My only issue now is that it is a Manufactured Home, that is over 8 miles from the nearest fire station.
If a fire station was 3 miles closer I could have actually saved money.
I will be paying about 2x as much for the insurance but, will be able to keep the stove.

 

[Dmitry]

Change your insurance, I switched from Geico / Homesite for simular reason. Stayed with geico/auto part. Homesite is terrible with their quotes and customer service.

 

[johnpma]

My town wants your $40 for the permit to install a stove....the inspector comes out and simply checks the front and side clearances with a tape measure and leaves.....