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Author Topic: Homeowners Insurance Coverage for Homebuilt Wood Stove  (Read 4454 times)

notnim

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Homeowners Insurance Coverage for Homebuilt Wood Stove
« on: November 21, 2016, 01:08:23 PM »

I just received any inquiry from my Insurance agent ( American Family) about my outdoor wood burner. It is home built (2010) and of course there was no UL tag on it, also it is not on a pad. Mine sits on 6in concrete pilings 30 in deep, with gravel under and around the stove for a 12 ft square area. It sits 125 ft from my home and 100 ft from my shop, I am using it to heat both. I use heat exchangers with by pass valves, so it is not my primary source of heat in either building. So I would like to know how many of you out there are having this problem with their insurance carriers and how you have dealt with it. So far they have not told me to remove it but their final answer is pending. As most of you who have built their own stove, mine is over built, but that matters little.
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mlappin

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Re: Homeowners Insurance Coverage for Homebuilt Wood Stove
« Reply #1 on: November 21, 2016, 02:12:02 PM »

If its that far from both the house and shop, what difference does it make whether its homemade or bought?

Sounds to me like your insurance company is fishing for higher premiums.

I have 120 feet of line in the ground, but the stove is closer to the house than that due to running the line around the well, my insurance company has never said one word about the stove when it was a homemade or now with a Heatmaster.
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hondaracer2oo4

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Re: Homeowners Insurance Coverage for Homebuilt Wood Stove
« Reply #2 on: November 21, 2016, 06:24:30 PM »

Mine told me they didn't care what it was at all(Allstate). Did they think that it was a "boiler"? A boiler oils be pressurized and they could be concerned that it was a bomb. I assume it is an open system. Also as lot as your primary heat sources come on automatically when the boiler goes out they shouldn't have any reason to ask any more questions.
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schoppy

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Re: Homeowners Insurance Coverage for Homebuilt Wood Stove
« Reply #3 on: November 21, 2016, 11:33:45 PM »

I think mlappin may be right about the premiums. I had a home made forced air wood furnace in my home for almost 25 years and State Farm didn't care as long as it was installed according to code.

I am not an insurance lover but they are a necessary evil today. I am going to be shopping around after 40 years with State Farm because they dropped my personal liability coverage but were more than willing to allow me to raise my liability on all my other policies to the higher level at a much higher cost to me. My point is don't be afraid to shop around if need be. 
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hondaracer2oo4

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Re: Homeowners Insurance Coverage for Homebuilt Wood Stove
« Reply #4 on: November 22, 2016, 04:28:45 AM »

I shop for insurance every 3-5 years.
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mlappin

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Re: Homeowners Insurance Coverage for Homebuilt Wood Stove
« Reply #5 on: November 22, 2016, 07:08:39 AM »

For the most part our insurance company has been pretty good to us, but we also have all our personal vehicles, liability insurance for the farm, a fleet of straight and grain trucks and the house all thru one company. My side business also carries liability insurance thru the same company so I believe we most likely get a little leeway as a lot of money foes there way for premiums by the end of the year.
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Stihl 023
Stihl 362
Stihl 460
Sachs Dolmar 112 and 120
Homemade skid steer mounted splitter, 30" throat, 5" cylinder
Wood-Eze model 8100 firewood processor

HeatmasterSS dealer for Northern Indiana