Insurance Question For Canadians

[dain.sorensen]

Hey. Just wondering what kind of increase you seen on your insurance when you installed a wood stove?
I am having one installed and am being told it will increase my insurance $696 a year. This is as a secondary supply of heat. I already have a gas furnace. My home is worth approx $500,000.
Thanks

 

[marty319]

I moved to my cottage 3 years ago.the surcharge on my insurance is $114.00 a year for wood heat as they call it auxiliary heating..total premium is $674.00 and I'm insured for just over 2 hundred thousand.i have electric baseboard heat for backup but if I had to heat with that in this drafty old place I'd go broke in a hurry.i would shop around.my stove is wett cetified

 

[rwhite]

It raised mine $120/yr in Northern Idaho.

 

[mcdougy]

I was told 60$

 

[ABMax24]

It really depends on what province you are in.

In Alberta my additional premium is just under $200/year, and I'm right around $1600/year total. I'm insured for a rebuild cost of $496,000, plus $2 million in liability should my house burn down and take the neighboring houses with it.

In Alberta it really depends on the install, newer installs with WETT certification paperwork pay lower rates, and some companies won't insure without a recent WETT inspection, others will insure but then deny coverage if you can't prove the install was compliant in the event of the stove being ruled the cause of a fire. I have heard of people that have had their premiums increase over $1000/year due to a wood stove, a cost that makes them uneconomic to operate in most cases.

 

[mcdougy]

The insurance world here is getting unexplainable. House insurance is based on your credit rating apparently, no set rate for a 500 thousand home. Im guessing it gave your broker a perfect excuse to raise your premium. I would suggest getting a quotation from a mutual insurance company, sounds like they have a bit more wiggle room to give s good rate.

 

[ABMax24]

The insurance world here is getting unexplainable. House insurance is based on your credit rating apparently, no set rate for a 500 thousand home. Im guessing it gave your broker a perfect excuse to raise your premium. I would suggest getting a quotation from a mutual insurance company, sounds like they have a bit more wiggle room to give s good rate.

It actually makes sense, those that can't maintain a reasonable credit score are also more likely to file insurance claims. But this also varies by province, in Alberta they can't use your credit score without your explicit consent.

Insurance rates keep going up here like crazy though. I get to pay higher rates because of all the weather events lately, not overly happy that I pay more because people keep building houses on flood plains beside rivers. Finally the insurance companies have caught on though, many of these houses are now un-insurable.

 

[marty319]

It actually makes sense, those that can't maintain a reasonable credit score are also more likely to file insurance claims. But this also varies by province, in Alberta they can't use your credit score without your explicit consent.

Same here in manitoba.actually a better rate if you consent to a credit report

 

[mcdougy]

My policy is coming due and my broker already gave me the heads up in a salesman type way that my premium will be increasing.....he went thru the square footage ,blah,blah,blah questions, then sent me a text that my home was valued 600thousand under what there program said. So...to do me a big favor he lessend my square footage and it valued our place only 400thousand more than the previous value. He blamed it on the price of materials and COVID... what a crock of s%#t. We will see when the renewal papers show up??

Edit....I just reread the text and it was 350 under and he did me a favor at only a 175 increase in value.

 

[marty319]

My policy is coming due and my broker already gave me the heads up in a salesman type way that my premium will be increasing.....he went thru the square footage ,blah,blah,blah questions, then sent me a text that my home was valued 600thousand under what there program said. So...to do me a big favor he lessend my square footage and it valued our place only 400thousand more than the previous value. He blamed it on the price of materials and COVID... what a crock of s%#t. We will see when the renewal papers show up??

Good luck.lol

 

[mcdougy]

Good luck.lol

Exactly.....I reread the text he sent and edited my original post

 

[mcdougy]

When I asked a friend who is in the insurance business he said to expect a 400$ increase approx.

 

[mcdougy]

 

[thebaron23]

I just checked my policy.
My "auxiliary wood heat surcharge" is $25

Im in Ontario with Aviva.

 

[rwhite]

Do you guys have fire rating zones up there? That has been the biggest driver in my insurance rates increasing. I'm in zone 10 which is the worst. Has something to do with the rating a fire department gets, response time, volunteer vs full time and distance. Hard to even find an insurer.

 

[marty319]

Do you guys have fire rating zones up there? That has been the biggest driver in my insurance rates increasing. I'm in zone 10 which is the worst. Has something to do with the rating a fire department gets, response time, volunteer vs full time and distance. Hard to even find an insurer.

I have to be within 13kilometers of a fire dept I'm at 9 or my insurance would double or even more

 

[ABMax24]

I have to be within 13kilometers of a fire dept I'm at 9 or my insurance would double or even more

Yup same here, we're 6 blocks away and have a fire hydrant within 100ft, no surcharge. My sister lives 16km from their fire station, mucho expensive for their insurance.

 

[saberbass]

I was in the same boat as you. I got all my wood first , then lined up the insurance before I paid for the install. My insurance company of 17 years wouldn't cover me because we were 13.5 kilometers from a fire hall, had to be 13 or less. My insurance broker found Intact and they insured us. We had a local company professional install and wett report. It added about 250 a year in Manitoba.

 

[marty319]

I was in the same boat as you. I got all my wood first , then lined up the insurance before I paid for the install. My insurance company of 17 years wouldn't cover me because we were 13.5 kilometers from a fire hall, had to be 13 or less. My insurance broker found Intact and they insured us. We had a local company professional install and wett report. It added about 250 a year in Manitoba.

For half a kilometer they wouldn't cover you ,no wonder people hate insurance companies. I'm with intact as well.used to be wawanesa but they went from 600 to 1500.i guess we are all paying for fires in fort mac

 

[saberbass]

Its crazy to think they would give up on a customer who has payed for 17 years and never had a claim ,for 1/2 a kilometer.

 

[MissMac]

Hey. Just wondering what kind of increase you seen on your insurance when you installed a wood stove?
I am having one installed and am being told it will increase my insurance $696 a year. This is as a secondary supply of heat. I already have a gas furnace. My home is worth approx $500,000.
Thanks

My insurance went up by about $20/month when I put the wood stove in. It is a secondary heat source. Can't even get insurance if it's the primary heat source over here. Your quote sounds steep - shop around?

 

[ManitobaSky]

Solid fuel adds 10% on my insurance.

 

[marty319]

Solid fuel adds 10% on my insurance.

Yes if it is wett certified,25% if not as I was told

 

[MissMac]

I don't even know how you fellas find insurance without having it WETT certified. It was a condition from all brokers here in my neck of the woods in ON.

 

[Tilter]

$25 a year. Secondary source. Has to be WETT certified. I live close to fire station and hydrant. They really seem to care if its a full masonary open fire.