Fire Insurance For Homes With Wood-burning Stoves And Fireplaces – As we now approach the heating season, naturally we will fire up our oven, boilers or even wood stoves. Wood stove insurance is a very big topic in the insurance industry as any type of auxiliary heating must be declared for all home insurance companies.
There are questionnaires and certain requirements that must be met to ensure that your wood stove is in safe, working condition and up to building code. This includes a wood stove inspection process.
Fire Insurance For Homes With Wood-burning Stoves And Fireplaces
If you don’t follow these procedures, installing a wood burning stove could have an impact on your home insurance policy.
What Kind Of Stove Pipe Should Be Used For Wood Burning Stoves?
This blog will give you some basic information about wood burning stoves and WETT inspections. We will explain why they are needed for both your peace of mind and the majority of home insurance companies.
We’ve created an editable wood stove questionnaire for you to fill out, feel free to download and email it to [email protected] so we can connect to discuss your options. This will help us provide you with an accurate home insurance quote.
As a local insurance broker, safety is our main concern, especially when insuring one of your biggest assets. We want to make sure your wood stove and home safety is up and up to code.
When securing your home and installing a wood burning stove, you may need an inspection completed to make sure it is professionally installed and in good working order.
Wood Burning Stove Installation Costs Explained
This is not only for the purpose of protecting your home, but also the health and safety of you and your family. When a wood burning stove is not installed properly it can release harmful pollutants into your home.
In particular, young children and the elderly are prone to the negative health effects, especially if they have pre-existing health problems with their heart or any respiratory conditions.
Some issues that could arise from wood burning stoves are the development of asthma, heart disease, lung disease and you will be more prone to respiratory infections.
One of the mandatory requirements that should be met for your home insurance policy is the completion of a wood stove inspection. This procedure includes inspection of the solid fuel combustion system by a certified WETT technician.
Tips For Keeping Your Family Safe When Using A Wood Burning Stove
The WETT inspection stands for Wood Energy Technology Transportation and involves a thorough inspection of the wood stove and its components by a certified technician.
This wood stove inspection will be able to ensure that it is working optimally, that it is structurally sound, and that it burns wood that will not endanger your safety or health. While the Certified Technician examines your wood stove, he will make sure it is installed properly and meets standard code.
They will also need to go up on the roof to examine the chimney for any ventilation problems. While the WETT inspector examines the wood stove, he may also inspect the flue pipe, chimney, and any combustible materials that may be too close to the fireplace.
Upon completion of the wood stove inspection, they will ensure that the minimum clearances from the bottom, top, sides, front and back are met. When these permits are not met, they pose a threat that could cause a serious fire.
How To Cook Food With A Log Burner
To meet the standard safety code, you must keep the minimum distance from anything that can burn or overheat. When objects are too close to flammable materials they may overheat and burn.
To avoid this, you can ensure that the minimum gaps are met, or you can install an air-cooled radiation shield or a certified commercial shield. These shields can be made of metal, solid brick or tile. When these are installed correctly, the possibility of fire is reduced.
Standard minimum clearances when no shield is present are 60 inches from top to ceiling and 48 inches on each side. When shielded, it reduces side clearance from 48 inches to 36 inches.
Shielding is an inexpensive way to protect any flammable materials. If an object is heated steadily for a long time, it can ignite, even if it is not directly exposed to the flame. When items are shielded, this is avoided.
Are Wood Burning Stoves Safe For Your Health?
If you’ve moved into a home that already has a wood stove, you may be wondering if it’s certified.
One way to tell if your wood stove is certified is that a label will be affixed to the unit. If there is no tag available, either on the stove or with the previous owner, then it will be considered non-certified.
However, if you have just moved into the house, most home insurance companies will ask for an up-to-date WETT certificate as well as a solid fuel heating questionnaire. This will also give you peace of mind.
Now you are probably asking if having a wood burning stove in your home will increase your insurance premium. Having a wood stove makes all the difference to your home insurance policy.
Installing A Wood Burning Stove
There are many variables that go into calculating your premiums. Each home is different and each home and its owners are considered for evaluation purposes individually.
Most home insurance companies add 10% to the policy for a wood stove or charge a flat fee of $50 per year.
However, finding home insurance for homes with oil heating systems can sometimes be difficult. There are greater risks associated with oil tanks as well as older homes tend to have this type of heating system. Homes built before the 1960s often have oil tanks, as opposed to more modern methods of using natural gas, boilers or furnaces. Home insurance with oil tanks can be a challenge, but there are ways to make sure your home is protected even if you have an oil tank on the property.
Oil tanks can be underground or above ground, located outside your home or inside a basement, crawl space or storage area. Oil tanks can be double-walled or single-walled and are made of metal, making them prone to rust or leaks over time. Unfortunately, a regular home insurance policy may not cover loss or damage to your home caused by an oil spill.
Health Warning To Wood Burning Stove Owners As Heater Linked To Toxic Chemicals
Some insurance companies won’t even insure a home heated by an oil tank. Those who do may have an annual fee to pay or higher premiums for a home insurance policy. If you find an insurance company that covers homes with oil tanks, make sure your tank meets their insurable standards.
Insurance companies can be hesitant to insure homes with oil tanks because many variables can affect their insurance risk:
All of these factors can determine an insurance company’s ability to provide you with a home insurance policy. Environmental hazards from oil tanks are also factors to consider when looking for a home insurance policy for a home with an oil tank.
Since we work with 20+ insurance partners, there are options available for you with an oil tank.
Why Now Is The Time To Install A Wood Burning Stove And Beat The Energy Crisis
Common oil tank problems include poor construction, tank leaks, environmental hazards caused by oil leaks, neglect, falling objects, and age.
Oil tanks must be located at least 50 feet from a water well and placed on noncombustible foundations such as concrete. The best oil tanks are those that can be easily inspected and are away from walls so rust can be avoided. Homeowners should regularly inspect their oil tank for damage to the tank, such as rust, leaks, or shifting of the tank.
Insurance companies look for oil tanks in homes that pose the least risk to insure. If your oil tank is well-maintained, up-to-date, up-to-date and working properly, finding a home insurance policy is entirely doable.
We hope this blog is helpful and provides you with all the necessary and appropriate information about heating your home with a wood stove or oil tank.
Wood Burning Stoves & Thatch: No Longer A Match?
At Duliban Insurance Brokers, we are the local insurance brokers who want to make sure you get the most out of your home insurance policy. We work with 20 different insurance companies and would love to compete for your business.
We will do the work to find you the best premium at the most affordable price for your life. All of our city’s realtors are valued members of the community who love to treat our clients like family.
Stop by one of our Niagara and Haldimand offices, call us or go online to get your free home insurance quote. According to the National Fire Protection Association, the use of a wood stove or appliance is one of the leading causes of home fires. This article describes the safety precautions homeowners should take when using a wood burner and how they can protect their property with wood burner insurance.
The cost of home insurance largely depends on the stove you have in your home. Wood stoves are more expensive than gas furnaces, so people with wood stoves usually have to pay higher premiums for home insurance.
How A Wood Burning Stove Or Fireplace Impacts Your Home Insurance Coverage
Wood burning
Wood burning stoves and fireplaces, gas burning stoves fireplaces, wood stoves and fireplaces, wood burning inserts for fireplaces, fireplaces wood burning stoves, wood burning stoves for small fireplaces, wood stoves fireplaces, images of fireplaces with wood burning stoves, wood stoves for fireplaces, fireplaces with wood burning stoves, fireplaces for wood burning stoves, wood burning fireplaces for sale
