# Homeowners Insurance Issues



## RHolcomb (Mar 23, 2010)

I received a notice of non-renewal from my homeowners insurance company with the reason being that my local agent not selling enough policies so they dropped him. They didn't offer to have me go to another agent and just decided to not renew my policy. So I have been calling all of the local agents in my area trying to get quotes from other insurance companies. The problem is that not one insurance company will write a policy because I have a pellet stove in my garage which is also my workshop. So I have to remove it to get get insurance. So if I want to work in my shop during the winter month's I have to find another solution. Installing a Natural Gas heater would be too costly and relying on a Propane heater large enough to heat my 1,000 sq. ft. shop would mean going to the propane filling station every other day with a 20lb tank. I do have a 135,000btu kerosene torpedo heater but the thermostat on it doesn't work as well as it should (doesn't always start back up when the temp drops), not to mention the noise it makes. Hopefully none of you that heat your shop with wood or pellets will end up with the same issues with your insurance company as I have. I guess for now, the answer for me will be to stay out of the shop for several months!


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## bruc101 (Sep 13, 2008)

Sorry to hear that Rob. Insurance companies are something to have to deal with now. I've got a friend that owns a beautiful wood home that insurance companies won't insure. It's natural cedar and they all tell him he'll have to paint it before they could insure him.

Their excuse was the home offices thinks if a house is not painted then it's not being taken care of. In our area here in the mountains they're also coming down on people's heads about having wood stoves in their homes to heat with and fireplaces.

Good luck finding you a new insurer.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

Is it because you have a pellet stove or you don't have a permit for a solid fuel appliance out there? If you have a permit form your town I would produce that and see if it gets you anywhere.


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## toddbeaulieu (Mar 5, 2010)

Oh my! That sux! I tried to get a natural gas heater installed last year in my shop but had zero luck getting plumbers to show up or return with a quote and plan.

And I considered a wood stove because of all the scraps that I give my neighbor all winter.


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## Woodmaster1 (Apr 26, 2011)

I use a bigMaxx natural gas to heat my shop. I ran the gas line from my house with my son in laws help. It only cost me some of the unions that he did not have and some beverages. The increase in the gas bill was only 10.00 a month extra. Natural gas heater would be the way to go if you did not have to run the gas line to far and a buddy that can help do the work.


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## TTF (Sep 13, 2009)

I have a wood stove in my shop. After I built it, the insurance guy gave me a quote. He came out to look at it - saw the wood stove and said it would be a problem - they didn't like wood stoves in shops and garages.

I said (I hope in a nice way) that I didn't care what they "liked", what would it take to insure building. He went back and got an addendum for it. I have to pay a few more bucks a year.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

This is why I use a handle (many different ones, in fact) on every forum I visit. I'm sure somebody with enough interest could track me down, but no point in making it any easier than it has to be. I belong to car and truck forums as well, but you won't see my license plates or street address in any of those pics. I don't post shop pics, because my "shop" is a little piece of a two-car garage, and nothing to be proud of. That may change if I do get to move to Oregon as we had hoped, but you still won't see license plates or an address.


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## Burgels (Jun 10, 2013)

I have a propane heater that connects to the supply for the house. I try not to overuse it but it doesn't take much to heat my shop to 60 degrees pretty quickly. Previous owner insulated the shop well. Insurance didn't balk at that at all.


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## DKV (Jul 18, 2011)

Rob, your insurance company dropped your agent so they dropped you? Seems there's more to the story. What aren't you telling?


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## conifur (Apr 1, 2015)

heck this is all BS, a few years ago you got a Federal tax credit to install one, if it met standards and codes.
I know, I have one in my rec room under the deal!!! With home owners insurance.


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## conifur (Apr 1, 2015)

Rob,
YDF, garage, cars, leaking gas tank, that is why a garage floor is one or two steps up to the house if attached!!!! Pellet/wood burner= explosion!!!!!!


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## RHolcomb (Mar 23, 2010)

Thanks to all that posted legitimate replies. I appreciate the input. For those that posted bizarre comments or think I'm not telling the whole story, you would be wrong. This kind of thing happens with insurance companies. They are there to make money and if an agent isn't meeting the standard number of policy sales, they drop that agent. I could post the letter they sent to prove myself, but I don't have to. I know what the truth is.

What happened to this site. It used to be woodworkers helping and discussing things with other woodworkers. Now there's some of that but there's more and more bizarre posts in the middle of legitimate threads and attacking the credibility of the poster. Very sad!


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

Sorry about the insurance issues…

This quickly became a strange thread with some of the responses


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

I have a 220 heater/blower in my shop. If you can run a 220 to yours, that might be your best bet. If there is a problem, just unplug it and remove it.

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/hvac/heaters/portable-electric/industrial-fan-forced-ceiling-mount-utility-heater-1874-5000-watt?infoParam.campaignId=T9F&gclid=CKyS-u3So8gCFZKBfgodMMcD3A


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

Someone else mentioned it, a bulk LP tank. My shop isn't quite as large (800 sq. ft.) and insulated real well but last year I burned 150 gallons of LP heating it (I have a meter to the shop). The current price of my LP is about $1.10 gallon….though I only heat to 65º when I'm in there and 50º when at night….maybe warming it up a little more for finishes to dry. That said, what you were told does suck….friggin insurance companies!


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## toddbeaulieu (Mar 5, 2010)

I'm using a 220 5000W heater as well, but mine sits on the floor. That approach is easy but VERY costly to run. Each winter I take a week or two off near xmas and live in the shop. Our electric bill during December was around $350, versus the normal $40 or so. Also, it takes a long time to go from zero to 70. Once I have it there, I can maintain it, but I have to let it run over night if I want to jump right into work in the morning. I like it tee-shirt temp when I work!


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

I sure am sorry about all of your insurance problems and I hope that you will be able to solve them through other local agents.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

Things vary from locale to locale.
Some areas like to see the base of the stove 18" above the floor or otherwise located where a car can't run into it.

Basically the problem is perceived incompatability between stoves and cars. If your shop cannot hold a car, often your stove is then acceptable. This can mean that you simply have the area taken over for a shop or something more like it has a garage door that is big enough to allow a car to enter.

Best bet is to pinpoint what the local codes say about it and see if you can work around it.


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## Holbs (Nov 4, 2012)

While you work out the insurance part, you can still use the torpedo heater. Before installing a Reznor 60K BTU natural gas unit in my 2 car garage, I was using a manually operated torpedo heater. Wasn't the greatest solution, but it DOES work. Heck, there are a couple hundreds threads about heating a workshop. With the onset of fall, I'm sure the topic will once again arise frequently with the same answers to the same questions.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

Where I live, heat is only needed about 2-3 months out of the year. Still, my insurance agent didn't like any heating system in my "wood" shop.

But here's the kicker I found out about. If it is permanently mounted, it is part of the structure and will be rejected. But if it is PORTABLE and can be removed easily, it is not counted as part of the building and does not come under the same rules. So the question becomes, can you make a woodburner somewhat portable? Probably not, but it goes to them being OK with propane tank heaters, kerosene heaters, and other heaters that can move.

Still an open flame, but for some reason it is OK?

So I have a large kerosene heater I bring in about mid-November, and it stays there until about the first part of March.


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## ClammyBallz (Apr 16, 2015)

You might luck out Rob. 
My insurance company decided to cancel my business insurance because they were "no longer covering the category of my business." No one could give me a straight answer as to why and it really griped me since I had homeowners, vehicle & every other type of insurance through them. My agent gave me the name of a broker who got me a much better rate and policy than I had before from another company and ended up saving 30%.


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## eflanders (May 2, 2013)

I had a similar issue but I was told I could not have both a wood stove and a pellet stove in the home even though they do not share the same chimney flue. I already had a rider for the wood stove so I was quite shocked. I told them I was going somewhere else with my business. Then they called me back to say they were sorry and wanted me to come back???


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## rustfever (May 3, 2009)

40 years in business, and each year I was accosted by my insurance company for some similar trivial issue. Each time I was forced to yield to their demands. Forty times I found a stupid way to circumvent those ridiculous issues. The next 'audit' found my solution. The next renewal forced me to 'Correct' their perceived transgression.
Finally, I yielded to their demands and retired. 
Insurance companies and lawyers belong in the same group.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

> Insurance companies and lawyers belong in the same group.
> 
> - rustfever


What group? Hell?


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## MikeUT (Sep 5, 2014)

Please don't stone me but I sell insurance. I don't spend any time selling homeowners (not much money in it) but I can vouch for you when you say that your agent got dropped so you did too. Who have you checked with? Companies like State Farm, All State, etc. are like cookie cutters, if you don't fit the mold you are out. If you find a good broker you may not have to make any changes.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

> Thanks to all that posted legitimate replies. I appreciate the input. For those that posted bizarre comments or think I m not telling the whole story, you would be wrong. This kind of thing happens with insurance companies. They are there to make money and if an agent isn t meeting the standard number of policy sales, they drop that agent. I could post the letter they sent to prove myself, but I don t have to. I know what the truth is.
> 
> What happened to this site. It used to be woodworkers helping and discussing things with other woodworkers. Now there s some of that but there s more and more bizarre posts in the middle of legitimate threads and attacking the credibility of the poster. Very sad!
> 
> - Rob


Where I live there are 26,000 people. A hop skip and a jump is Anchorage and about 350,000 people.
My insurance agent retired. I got a letter from the main office saying they were assigning me to agent xxx in the same area. If I didn't want that agent they told me to go find one myself. I don't know how big Jamestown is or the surrounding area but in my area there are tons of insurance agents. All my references in this reply are agents are of the same insurance co.

It seems strange that an insurance co would throw the baby out with the bath water. But who know what their business model is.

Just saying


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

http://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/home-owners-insurance-and-pellet-stove.19442/


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## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

Guys, this does happen he isn't making it up.
The wood stove I bought from a guy who's insurance co. made him get rid of it.

That being said, I have a wood stove in my house which was acceptable under my insurance which is Farm Bureau, I think. Another time we got a quote the man looked out my back door and said, "I wish you had told me you had a swimming pool." Conversation over and he left.

I think it just depends on the insurance co.

There's millions of homes with fireplaces, woodstoves, gas stoves, etc. so I think you just need to keep trying.
If you have to pay a little extra for a rider, you can just do that.

Can't imagine why but is it something specific to a pellet stove?


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## RHolcomb (Mar 23, 2010)

As a follow-up. I did find a local agent that got me Allstate insurance. I got better coverage for the same money I was paying. They didn't have any issue at all with my pellet stove and so I still have it. It all worked out in the end but what a pain in the neck it was to get coverage!


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

How does saying/implying that you find something unusual translate to "He's making it up"


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

I will have to agree with "it just depends on the insurance company".
I always had State Farm insurance till I actually moved to the country and onto a farm.
I discovered that many things a person does like heat with wood, or have a work shop in the basement are considered outside the box to some companies. In my case Farm Bureau considered my activities normal but State Farm wouldn't touch it.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

I asked my insurance agent about heating a detached garage that was yet to be finished. I asked about a wood or pellet stove, and they said that they don't like to insure 'non-inhabited out buildings with solid fuel appliances'... something about lighting a fire and leaving for the room to heat up. By the time you'd notice a fire issue, the issue is already probably too big to handle on your own… Which I get from their perspective, but still annoying.

Glad you got it worked out though


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

Insurance companies (God bless them) they are only going to insure things that don't happen.


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## OggieOglethorpe (Aug 15, 2012)

Have you tried calling Amica, or if you're a vet, USAA, directly? We have pellet stoves all over my neck of the woods.

I haven't used an insurance agent in over 25 years…


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

I'm insured through an independent broker and he finds carriers who want my policy. Might cost a little more but I can get/modify/drop coverage with little more than a phone call and an email.


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## OggieOglethorpe (Aug 15, 2012)

*I'm insured through an independent broker and he finds carriers who want my policy. Might cost a little more but I can get/modify/drop coverage with little more than a phone call and an email.*

Same here with service… I added an R/V in ~ 90 seconds Thanksgiving week, directly with an Amica employee, at a price that encouraged the dealership employee to shop her own coverage with them.

Ever see independent ratings for Amica and USAA? They're fantastic, usually swapping #1 and 2, depending on the survey. I've also personally been extremely happy with them when I needed to make a claim.

I have to use an agent for a little airplane I own, as so few companies offer aircraft insurance there are specialty brokerages.


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