Like many others we also have USAA and we informed them of the wood stove in our new home and there were no issues, questions, or inspections. Their rates are very competitive for this area, especially with our other insurance lumped together.
Home Owners Insurance
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I can't get an "in" with USAA. My dad served, but I never could convince him to start an account so we could benefit.
I just talked with Liberty Mutual again. They say that it's their choice whether or not to add a "surcharge" to a policy for a wood burning insert, and that in this case, they have chosen to do so. They make a big point of the fact that it's a "surcharge," and not a "rate increase," so I shouldn't complain.
They say this is happening because they consider an insert to be the same as a stove. I was hoping to "appeal" and explain that this unit is completely flush and should have no more danger than the existing fireplace (and should in fact be safer due to the airtight door, SS liner, etc.), but they said I "won't be allowed to appeal."
Yes, I'll be shopping for a new insurer. I just wish I could get USAA.
I have been in the process of looking to acquire and install a wood burning insert to my fireplace. Out of curiosity I called and asked my agent and they had no idea but said they would reach out to the underwriters. They had two restrictions. The first being that it could not be my primary source of heat. The second was that it had to be installed by a licensed individual or company. I would have to keep that reciept in the event there was a claim.
Unfortunately that blows this project out of the water because I was planing on installingn the liner and the insert to save some money.
Unfortunately that blows this project out of the water because I was planing on installingn the liner and the insert to save some money.
I'm in the process of doing my own install,travellers said it had to be professionally installed or inspect by the fire Marshall or home inspector. I'm not gonna pay $1800 for the install, I will do it my self and have it inspected and if it fails then I will fix it as per recommendations from the fire Marshall until I get it right. Not paying that much for a single level install less than 20'.
Sometime installers are just too costly. Mini splits are in that category. Installers charging several thousand over the cost of materials for a few hours work. Just not enough competition in that field i guess.
when we first started the process of getting quotes on the stove install, i got a quote from one guy, and he took a look and said "i can't charge you for this, call me up when you are ready to install, and I will go through and verify that it is up to code. I would feel bad charging you to cut a hole in your roof and put in a couple of screws."
maybe try and call one of the local installers to see if they might be able to verify if you do the work?
maybe try and call one of the local installers to see if they might be able to verify if you do the work?
I am in an insurance quandary - My house is primary wood heat. without out getting into all the details, the home is R-65 roof and walls. I burn about a half a cord a winter. The house rarely drops below 74 degrees during the winter months. I am happy and do not desire any other form of heat. On the flip side - my HO insurance is outrageous - north of $2K a year for a 2800 sqft home. I have been looking in to adding a 30,000 BTU Radiant Propane Heater to be my primary heat. I am not sure how much I would use this thing, but it might come in handy during the shoulder seasons. I can get on installed for around $400 - I feel the savings on the HO insurance the first year would make it a worthwhile investment and offer my family another heating option when I am not around to tend to the stove. Plus it would be nice to be able to set the thermostat when taking a weekend trip during the cold months.
I was quoted $975 with propane main and wood supplemental. A savings of $1100 and change year one.
You could go electric as a furnace or baseboard/ wall units ( give the option of zone heating)- listing that as primary- wood secondary - propane is a fuel that isn't price regulated plus either buying a tank or renting one. Two winters back propane became short in supply prices went sky high. Is that 400 just install? seems low if it includes unit. just a thought as I know others have gone this route due to insurance companies- or codes. Around me ya have to have a conventional heating system to pass code inspection no matter what as wood units are not considered conventional ( funny that coal is still considered conventional - not that much different than wood) they have their rules so ya got to play along.
WOW thats some surcharge. I dont pay $1100 for heat for the entire year in a 3000 Sf 3 story home. Most years about half of that. Just install some electric resistance baseboards and call it primary heat to satisy the rule, and dont turn em on cuz they will bankrupt you as faster than yur insurance Co.
Imagine a bunch of cubicles in a steel and concrete building. In each cubical a phone, computer and a few photos of the family. The person answering the phone has no idea that the insurance company that they represent has shareholders that want a large dividend. Yes they will insure you, but when the s hits the fan, they can worm their way out of it. On the flip side, when the final bill came in for the fire in my rental house which was caused from marijuana grow lights it was less than the insurance company paid me. I asked if I could pay back the balance. They said no. What a world what a world.
I got baseboard heating I claim as my primary heat ,dem bitched can put a hole in your pocket really quick
I thought about electric baseboard, but I am off grid and do not have a large enough PV system to even turn one of those things on - this would be an easy loophole for the insurance companies to worm out of a claim through. My only option is propane.
Country Financial insurance customer here. Our agent could care less about a wood stove. No additional cost, no inspection. Maybe it's a regional thing?
I asked him what the issue is with some insurance companies and wood stoves -- he says it's not about burning wood and the risk of fire, but the risk of burns to people due to contact with the stove. When you consider the facts, it makes sense. 45% of home fires and 43% of burn injuries occur in the kitchen. Heating equipment is responsible for 16% of house fires, which is twice the rate of arson. When you consider "heating equipment" includes electrical heaters (I would guess are at the top of the list), gas and oil furnaces and wood heat, the risk of house fire from wood heat is fairly insignificant -- from an insurer's perspective. In addition, smokers and faulty electrical connections dwarf the rate of fires caused by wood stoves.
I asked him what the issue is with some insurance companies and wood stoves -- he says it's not about burning wood and the risk of fire, but the risk of burns to people due to contact with the stove. When you consider the facts, it makes sense. 45% of home fires and 43% of burn injuries occur in the kitchen. Heating equipment is responsible for 16% of house fires, which is twice the rate of arson. When you consider "heating equipment" includes electrical heaters (I would guess are at the top of the list), gas and oil furnaces and wood heat, the risk of house fire from wood heat is fairly insignificant -- from an insurer's perspective. In addition, smokers and faulty electrical connections dwarf the rate of fires caused by wood stoves.
I mostly agree with some of your stats . . . last I knew cooking fires were the #1 cause (as mentioned) followed by electrical and heating equipment (I cannot quite remember which was #2 and which was #3 . . . but these were the leading causes.) Smoking materials, believe it or not, is down a ways, but it is the leading cause of fire-related deaths.
If you break down each cause and look a little more indepth one will see that in the case of heating equipment fires the NFPA's research indicates that space heaters far and away out pace central heating devices. Space heaters include electric space heaters as noted, but also included in this are kerosene heaters, woodstoves and pellet stoves.
I would suspect it would be true about electrical issues (and I would guess even smoking materials) being far more common than woodstove fires (breaking out just woodstoves from space heaters) simply due to the limited number of folks nation-wide using woodstoves.
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