Home Owners Insurance and Pellet Stoves

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I only had two days after we got our closing date to get insurance. We had Allstate for auto and renter's insurance, but got a better policy for less money with State Farm. They won't write a policy without an onsite inspection, so after the guy came to do it he called back and said it was an extra $40/year for the pellet stove he found. Still cheaper than Allstate, though.
 
My insurance company wanted a WETT inspection (http://www.wettinc.ca/what.html) done on the installation no matter who did it, and wanted the inspection certificate faxed to them. It cost me $150 for the inspection, but since it passed there was no increase to my premium. They didn't care that I did the install myself, just that it passed inspection.
 
I called my insurance company, they didn't seem to care once I told them it was an insert that was installed in a masonry fireplace.

Permit here is $154 with the township. I haven't sent the form in yet. I'll get around to it. All they did when my neighbor had his insert installed was come out and measure the distance from the top of the insert to the mantle and the front to the edge of the hearth. The guy was there all of 5 minutes.
 
My inspector just seemed fascinated by the whole pellet stove thing -- asked how it worked, how many pellets I use. I opened the hopper, showed him the controls and the auger in action. He didn't even measure the clearances. Five minutes and out the door.
 
Utilitrack said:
My insurer only wanted proof of professional installation, I guess they assume that a dealership will always install properly, bad assumption based on many posts here...

No, it just gives them someone to sue if it goes wrong. ;-)
 
So far all my insurer wanted me to do was fill a form with make and model of stove, diagram of clearances, pic of stove install ..
 
Our insurer wanted a permit. I haven't done that yet. It's around $350. Something like 10% of the cost of the unit.
I will need to get it done at some point.
 
No increase here and my carrier much prefers them over wood stoves... no problem with a self-install either.
 
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