homeowners insurance and woodstoves

[sparksalot]

does anyone know if they are paying more homeowners ins for having a woodstove..my house is insured for 102,000 with the highest deductable allowed and I am paying 584.48 anual premium...i want to raise how much i insure the house for but my premium would double. The reason i have it insured so low is that if it burnt down i would just take time off work and rebuild it myself...but i was just curious do i pay more in insurance for having a woodstove?

 

[colsmith]

Our insurance might have gone up a smidge, but if so, it was maybe $20 a year. I had called months in advance to ask about it, since if the insurance would be going up a gazillion dollars it might not save money to burn wood. Just call your agent and ask questions, or if you are trying to keep your agent in the dark for the time being, call some other insurance agent in your area and ask about it. After ours was installed the insurance company had someone look at it very hard, look at the manual, ask lots of questions, and measure lots of things to be sure it was installed correctly.

I am guessing a lot of people don't say anything to their insurance company, but then if their house burns down they could be really screwed. (I am suddenly thinking of Mr. "I don't open the front door of my stove, so I didn't make the required hearth." That sure wouldn't fly with our town building inspector or our insurance company.)

 

[sparksalot]

my ins company knows i have a wood stove but it is so hard to get a hold of them to figure the information out...i have state farm but i want to switch to USAA but the rates are about the same..

 

[mtarbert]

Sparkey,
I'm not an insurance man but, I did stay in a Holiday Inn last week.......Insuring you home for the bare min. may be a mistake. A few years ago we bought a home and when we went to insure it I too wanted the bare min to save on preminiums. Much to my suprise it was cheaper to insure our home for 325,000.00 than for 290,000.00. The agent told me that after 300 we went into the "Elite" homeowner catagory. It actually saved money.
Just...my two cents
Mike

 

[Jay H]

I called up my Allstate HO policy a few weeks before my installation of my Quad. and the lady told me they tree wood stoves as a space heater! They did ask if I had another heating system and I told them I have a gas boiler with baseboard heat. They never asked me if I used it or not and I never turned it on this past winter but yes, I do have one..

Jay

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Before I started the install I called my agent and asked how my premium would change. They said it would not change since I was close to the FD. When I was about ready to have the final inspection I notified the ins company and they re-affirmed it would not change. They wanted to make sure I was having the inspector take a look at it. They never asked me when the stove was built, etc.

It has not changed. I have Liberty Mutual.

Matt

 

[Charlie Z]

Before buying the stove, I asked the insurance co what they needed. They said no rise in premiums and sent a sheet to fill in to document the stove and installation information. I went through the town permit process (they didn't require it) and had the town inspection, which was good for documenting a qualified pro to check my work, which they did need. That's a 'black and white' way to do it (which seems like 2% of the way it's done).

FWIW: we deal with insurance claims quite a bit at work and I don't believe in 'cheap' insurance. I asked a friend who is an insurance executive who he used and he recommended Amica. I've used them for almost 20 years and they have been the most stand-up ins company I've dealt with. Dunno if they cover under the Big Sky, though and I doubt you have permitting processes as we do here, Back East.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Just had to make sure the install was done enough to satisfy them and all they required was a double wall with 1" space between. They could care less what is on the floor, etc. But our insurance did raise by $20 per year.

 

[sparksalot]

well as far a rebuilding I get 76000 plus 25000 for rent etc...i don't have 76000 worth of stuff maybe 6800 if i am lucky, so that would not be a problem...my rates have just gone up this year and i think it is to pay for Katrina and wild fires and the assorted CEO salaries and private jets etc.......i am glad to hear that rates don't go up we could not survive without our woodstove it was 16 and blowing hard last night but the Jotul kept us at 73 just burning for half the day....i am sure glad i have enough wood to get us through....people are lazy here you can find all kinds of wood if you want...most people just want to turn up the thermostat....

 

[cbrodsky]

my ins company knows i have a wood stove but it is so hard to get a hold of them to figure the information out...i have state farm but i want to switch to USAA but the rates are about the same..

USAA didn't charge us anything extra for the woodstove unless we wanted to add coverage for the cost of the stove itself. You know, in case someone decided to walk off with it in the middle of the night

-Colin

 

[Jabberwocky]

Sheesh .. I should get a rebate for plugging my useless fireplace with a pellet insert. Talk about safety factor x 1000 !

 

[Rhone]

My insurance went up probably about $20 because I told them I got a wood stove and wanted to increase coverage $3,500 for replacement costs. They told me it wouldn't have affected my premiums otherwise.