insurance

[cyclone]

My insurance runs out at the end of the month, so i am letting them know that i have installed a wood burner in my basement. The insurance will go up in price and they said a professional i nstaller must sign off on the insurance form.

I am the one who istalled the stove, now what??? Change insurances..Any advice

 

[johnnywarm]

I need to know this also.

John

 

[mranum]

Probably need it inspected to verify clearances and proper venting, at least that would be my guess.

 

[WES999]

My insurance co. just wanted proof of inspection, no increase in rates, OK with me.

 

[fossil]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/21784/

 

[johnnywarm]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/21784/

Thanks Rick

 

[Elfin]

I switched from a pellet stove to a woodstove and informed my insurance... they asked me no questions about it at all. Probably we already were paying the higher rate because of the pellet stove, but I don't remember them making a big deal about that either. I have Farmers, in case you are shopping around.

 

[johnnywarm]

i have safe-co. i'm asking in the morning if an inspection is all we need.

 

[4 cords]

we got a permit ,approved inspection, our rate did not increase, I was shocked they had a chance to charge more and didnt good luck

 

[webby3650]

I have shelter ins. and my agent just needed to take some pics. He said that if it is installed per code my rate would not increase and it didn't.

 

[jeff6443]

I LOVE this one . NEW JERSEY . We pride ourselves as being the MOST currupt state in the nation . I did it buy the book permit pro install , inspection ,fire and building
total time 18 minutes , yes 2 guys 157.00 Waiting on State Farm Inspection . So far they are good PS I cant spell . But I m all leagle in this ( STATE )

 

[aussieblake]

I am in the same situation. We called the Insurance company to tell them we were getting a wood stove, so they sent this form out. It asks if the stove was professionally installed. If not has it been inspected for permitting, if not has it been inspected by the fire deparment.

Now my wife happens to know the fire marshall, and on Saturday at an event she asked him if they inspected wood stove installations, and long story short they do not, and the fire department does not inspect items at a dwelling unit (house). We have no state licensing requirement for stove installers (mechanical contractor is the closest), and me being a licensed Electrical contractor, I feel that even if a stove shop installed it, it still can not be called professionally installed.

Long story short, I am going fill out the paper work showing I did the install, I am also going to take pictures (with tape measure) documenting clearances to combustibles incase that ever becomes an issue.

I have thought about having a friend who is a mechanical contractor sign off on the installation as the "professional", becasue that is the closet state license we have to stove installation.

aussieblake

 

[aussieblake]

I am in the same situation. We called the Insurance company to tell them we were getting a wood stove, so they sent this form out. It asks if the stove was professionally installed. If not has it been inspected for permitting, if not has it been inspected by the fire department.

Now my wife happens to know the fire Marshal, and on Saturday at an event she asked him if they inspected wood stove installations, and long story short they do not, and the fire department does not inspect items at a dwelling unit (house). We have no state licensing requirement for stove installers (mechanical contractor is the closest), and me being a licensed Electrical contractor, I feel that even if a stove shop installed it, it still can not be called professionally installed.

Long story short, I am going fill out the paper work showing I did the install, I am also going to take pictures (with tape measure) documenting clearances to combustibles in-case that ever becomes an issue.

I have thought about having a friend who is a mechanical contractor sign off on the installation as the "professional", because that is the closet state license we have to stove installation.

aussieblake

 

[Tfin]

I have State Farm. I installed the stove myself. They only needed to take a couple of pics and my premium never changed.

 

[ashburner]

I have State Farm. I installed the stove myself. They only needed to take a couple of pics and my premium never changed.

Hi Tfin,

I am SOOOOO glad you posted this. I'm just in process of making the decision to go with wood heat. In checking everything out I talked to my State Farm agent (the clerks there) and was told my premium would go up 10%, or about $100./year.:grrr:


I plan to call them on the carpet now and ask why it would not change a premium in Maine but would change here in Michigan!

 

[Tfin]

I have State Farm. I installed the stove myself. They only needed to take a couple of pics and my premium never changed.

Hi Tfin,

I am SOOOOO glad you posted this. I'm just in process of making the decision to go with wood heat. In checking everything out I talked to my State Farm agent (the clerks there) and was told my premium would go up 10%, or about $100./year.:grrr:


I plan to call them on the carpet now and ask why it would not change a premium in Maine but would change here in Michigan!

Good question! I simply called my agent and told them what I was going to do. Asked if it would change my premium any and they said no. They simply sent me an infromative pamphlet, said to adhere to both the chimney and stove manufacturor's specs/recomendations, and finally came out and snapped a couple of pics of the installed stove.

That was it. I'll be interested to hear what your agent says when you confront them though.

 

[ashburner]

Good question! I simply called my agent and told them what I was going to do. Asked if it would change my premium any and they said no. They simply sent me an infromative pamphlet, said to adhere to both the chimney and stove manufacturor's specs/recomendations, and finally came out and snapped a couple of pics of the installed stove.

That was it. I'll be interested to hear what your agent says when you confront them though.

This is a PRIME example of why I ask a million questions anymore before making a decision... vendors or suppliers or in this case the insurance company not really knowing the answers or what they are talking about....

Just got a call back from a woman at my State Farm agent's office. She tells me its a $30/yr. surcharge to have the wood stove. I tell her the other woman said it was 10% and am informed that woman was wrong.

I mention the forum and that another subscriber has the wood stove and State Farm did not raise their rates. The responses I got included:

* that person may have insurance as part of their mortgage and not even knowing they are paying it (I told her that was not the case based on the info in the forum, they talked to their agent)

* There is more liability in Michigan with a wood stove, what if a 2 year old went up to it and burned their hand? I asked why that would be different for State Farm in the state of Maine vs. in Michigan, and her reply was, "well, because in Michigan that's just the way it is".

* Finally she admitted she had no idea why State Farm in Maine would not charge a surcharge but Michigan would.

She said she would check with the underwriter and get back to me, though she doubted that even they could tell her, its the way State Farm operates in Michigan and maybe its different than the way they operate in Maine.

I asked if they would waive the fee for me, and she said "no. that was not possible." I just shook my head and hung up the phone, wondering if she ever will get back with me.

Then again, I guess I could get the fee waived if I changed insurance companies! :lol:

ps... agent himself is also serving Uncle Sam in a reserve capacity but gone for many months now. While I respect his duty to our country, its frustrating to have to deal with the office staff instead of the agent himself....

 

[tradergordo]

I highly recommend shopping around for the best deal every few years when it comes to insurance. All of these companies automatically raise premiums every year and you can often do much better by starting over with a different company. Obviously you want to make sure the company is reputable, which you can do by looking up their credit ratings (AM Best, etc). Here's a great discussion from people comparing companies and rates:
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/569815?highlight_key=y&keyword1=insurance&lastpage=1

My own contribution is in there somewhere, but in a nutshell, for homeowners I have a policy underwritten by Cumberland Insurance group (rated A+ by A.M. Best), the total cost is about a dollar per thousand dollars value of your house, per year. So $300,000 in coverage is around $300/year. They didn't ask much about the woodstove, but of course it is one of the questions on the application. My install was permitted, can't remember if I had to send them documentation or not but I don't think I did.

My auto policy is underwritten by Peerless Indemnity Insurance Company, a Liberty Mutual subsidiary and is ‘A’ rated by A.M. Best. No one believes me when I tell them what I pay for auto insurance, but its just $149/YEAR per car. And they have good service too, I was involved in an accident this year (not my fault) and had to deal with them - everything went smoothly.

I purchased BOTH of these policies though a local agency:
http://aisinsurance.net/

Walter DeBarberie, President

[email protected]
AIS Insurance Group, Inc.
100 Deerfield Lane Suite # 200
Malvern, Pa 19355
Phone: 610-578-9797 ext.1012
Fax: 610-578-9788
1-877-247-9797 x1012 (Toll Free)

No idea what areas they can cover, but similar policies using the same underwriters should be available from other agents around the country. You can just contact the underwriter (or maybe find the info on their website) to find out how to buy their policies locally.

 

[Tfin]

We do have all our insurance with them (home/both vehicals/snowmobile/etc) so I don't know if that makes a difference or not. I will admit that my sister-in-law works there, but she's bound by certain standards/policies that would prevent her from allowing something to me that she wouldn't to someone else.

I may get better customer service from her.....but certainly not a better policy/premium. If you're really curious, PM me and I could check with her as to why policies might or might not differ from state to state.

 

[caber]

We have Nationwide and they said very little about it. The agent advised us not to state that the woodstove was our primary heat source if at all possible and since we also have nice, safe, very mainstream and easily insured electric baseboards, they were okay with that. The woodstove is listed as a supplemental heat source.

 

[Poult]

I have a $50 surcharge with my insurance (local, not national company). My agent was out yesterday to take photos of the installation and he only took measurements and asked whether or not it was a professional installation (it was). He said the insurance companies like that because then if there is a fire due to poor installation, they go after the installer's insurance.

 

[spadafore]

There is a good chance I will be switching over to State Farm. They are coming out today to look at the room I plan on putting a wood stove in. It is attached to the house and is behind the garage. Not to much red tape yet, we'll see later today as long as their rates are in line with my current rates.

 

[ashburner]

There is a good chance I will be switching over to State Farm. They are coming out today to look at the room I plan on putting a wood stove in. It is attached to the house and is behind the garage. Not to much red tape yet, we'll see later today as long as their rates are in line with my current rates.

Hi Spadafore, If you don't mind, simply out of curiosity, ask your State Farm agent if there is any kind of surcharge on having the wood stove, and if so, what it is, and let us know, or PM me if you don't want to broadcast it.

Tnx,

ashburner

 

[spadafore]

Hey, burning chunk. Yeah I'll ask him this evening, he will be over around 5. I'll get the skinny and let you know. I don't have him or his company yet. Just about though. I'm not sure if it is All State or the agent I happened to call, but I am impresed with them so far. They have followed through with everything they said they were going to do. My current insurance company didn't want to deal with me on the location of a wood stove. This agent took the time to listen to what I had to say, looked into it, called me back, and is coming out tonight for a once over before I call the installers. Hopefully it's not too good to be true. Time will tell. Anyways I'll let you know tomorrow morning.

 

[spadafore]

Burning chunk, I'll have to let you know as soon as they call me. The agent came out last night and took pictures of my house and room the stove was going to be installed in. He had to send these pictures into the under writer. He said he didn't think there should be any problems. I told him I would compare my existing rates to his after he called me back (either today or Friday at the latest). I did ask him if there was an extra charge for the wood stove. He said no just a check list that needed to be filled out. In my case the installers would fill it out. Hope I could help. I'll give you the rest of the details as soon as I get them.