Will installing a woodstove impact your home insurance?

With energy prices high and budgets tight, many people in our area are considering installing a wood or pellet stove for heating.  I often get calls about whether or not this will impact the person’s home owner’s insurance policy and the answer is “maybe”.

For some home owner’s, especially those with standard “stick-built” homes in good fire protection districts, there is often no problem at all and usually no additional premium.  It all depends on the company insuring the home though, and these rules vary greatly from company to company and area to area.

For homes in rural areas, especially in Fire Protection Classes 9 and 10, the rules can be different.  These homes already carry a higher fire insurance rating and some companies will not offer insurance at all on these homes if a solid fuel appliance such as a wood or pellet stove is installed.  This may be especially true for secondary or seasonal homes.

Manufactured or modular homes often have yet another set of rules that is usually more restrictive with regard to wood stoves.  Because many manufactured homes can become fully engulfed by a fire more quickly than a stick-built home, some insurance companies don’t even insure them.  Those that do will often charge an additional fee for having a wood stove or might refuse coverage altogether. 

Finally, even the installation can make a difference.  Common sense dictates that a person should follow the instructions very carefully with regard to distances from the wall and especially the type and location of the chimney.  In addition to that, however, many insurance companies require “professional installation” of a wood stove.  So, no matter how competent you might be, you may find your insurance application being declined on a “do-it-yourself” installation.  For manufactured homes, there are wood stoves designed especially for these homes so be sure you don’t end up with a non-approved stove in your home.  Not only could this cause insurance problems, it can be downright dangerous.

I often get the call with the question about wood stoves after  the installation, when it is too late to make a change.  In order to avoid problems, call your insurance agent or insurance company before you install a solid fuel heating appliance.  You can avoid a lot of grief!