Insurance underwriters complaints

[JamesGuido]

has anyone received any crap from insurance companies about their wood stoves?

we recently switched homeowners ins. companies.
having a wood stove in our home from day1 (august 1991), never a complaint before.
now this new joint sent out some guy to snap a few photos, he seemed cool with everything...
then we get a follow-up email about:

Our agency received a memo from underwriting regarding the inspection came back. See below concerns and advised when the concerns will be addressed

- The stove does not have a manual damper which is required for these types of units
- The metal chimney is not Class A UL listed which is required
- There is a wood pile storage showing 12” behind the stove, underwriting is requesting to move it at least 36” from the stove.

Yes, the Jøtul F500 V3 does not have a manual damper... the metal chimney IS Class A UL listed... and my wood "pile" storage was 18" behind the stove (get too picky, i'll move the damn wood).

this insurance company really gets my goat!

 

[blades]

The Under writers are a p i t a. Had one that did not like name of biz. Said I needed to change to get ins ( that did not happen). Many other tidbits over the years, won't bore anyone. Just got a note from the home ins. co. Raising rates because of lumber prices ect. Highway robbery.

 

[clancey]

I do not blame you--get another company --would get my goat too...My insurance man just measured distances and told me to get a few things like a carbon dioxide and fire alarms things as well as a temperature gage on the pipe and two fire extinquishers as One for the kitchen and one for the wood stove as well as a certified installer..But no hassle like what they mailed you..I am including my truck in the policy for next year to make it cheaper and bundled...This year my truck was side swiped and I was smart enough to include uninsured drivers and property damage and this saved me cause it is just liability on a old truck--1999 Toyota and the adjuster called me and told me how surprised she was that they were holding their price so she did not total it but sent me a check for 5901.00 which I guess is cheaper than totaling it.. Yea search for another company or do what they want...but I understand how you feel..clancey

 

[marty319]

Yes osb here now is 65 for 4×8 7/16 bloody ridiculous. Insurance made me do 2 certifications in 3 years at 150 a pop.i despise them but you have to have Insurance.when I moved out to my cabin my insurance went from 700 to 1500.said goodbye to that broker and found other coverage just as good for 640.my renewal is coming up in Sept and with the price of replacement now because of lumber prices it's going to be interesting

 

[clancey]

Yea we are all in for a ride..clancey

 

[MongoMongoson]

The Under writers are a p i t a. Had one that did not like name of biz. Said I needed to change to get ins ( that did not happen). Many other tidbits over the years, won't bore anyone. Just got a note from the home ins. co. Raising rates because of lumber prices ect. Highway robbery.

Now I want to know the name of the business.

I felt like my insurance company/underwriter was on the other end of the spectrum. They wanted a picture of the tag/sticker on the back of the stove and then one picture of the stove installed. They didn't want extra pictures of the chimney or anything. Weird. You can't get a perspective of clearances with one picture.

 

[bholler]

Insurance can require what ever they want but generally is you present them with the actual code and manual they will typically be ok with that.

 

[PaulBunyun]

My insurance requested a picture once installed and sent me a questionnaire to fill out. Pretty basic stuff asking if it was professionally installed and requiring a minimum 18 inches of hearth from the stove. They approved it without issue and even commented that it looked nice. Have always been happy with them. For me it all comes down to reasonableness and they have always been reasonable.

 

[nortcan]

Insurance can require what ever they want but generally is you present them with the actual code and manual they will typically be ok with that.

That is right, one day, the insurance inspector came home for the stoves installation, all was OK exceted that : there was one problem cause he told I changed the original glass for a mirror glass cause he was seeing the floor in the stove glass, but the stove was brand new and the glass was the original one. After a few discussion about the stove he was happy and me too! They want to be the professional...

 

[blades]

name of biz Mr. B's Blades-- underwriter ( female ) took exception to the word blades.

 

[Rob_Red]

On the other hand if you drive around my area you will see lots of old school smoke dragons hooked up to really sketchy chimneys burning green wood 24/7 for months on end.

Not sure I would sign up to be financially responsible if something went wrong there.

As was said earlier if your setup is up to code all you have to do is demonstrate that and you should be good to go.

I have my whole setup permitted and inspected by the town, which was a hassle but actually pretty easy to do. I sent the sign off sheet to my insurance company and it was discussion over.

 

[begreen]

On the other hand if you drive around my area you will see lots of old school smoke dragons hooked up to really sketchy chimneys burning green wood 24/7 for months on end.

There are a lot of uninsured homes out there too.

 

[marty319]

Well in my area that is cottage country probably 75% of chimneys are not code.questioning a person about their chimney being very unsafe and their response was we are are grandfathered in lol.my response was ha.wait till you have a fire and try and collect insurance with that hazard

 

[bholler]

Well in my area that is cottage country probably 75% of chimneys are not code.questioning a person about their chimney being very unsafe and their response was we are are grandfathered in lol.my response was ha.wait till you have a fire and try and collect insurance with that hazard

Honestly from what I see and from talking with other sweeps across the nation that 75% might be a bit high but not by much across the nation. Now if the chimney and install etc was existing before they bought the house or before codes were adopted insurance will almost always pay a claim. But if they did noncompliant work themselves insurance may very well not pay.