Fire and Woodstoves/Home Insurance Issues - Tip #19:
- borrowed from Certified National Real Estate Agents (CREA.net)

~ Although there is nothing like the warm glow of a wood fire on a cold winter's night, fireplaces and wood stoves present insurance issues. Has it been installed according to your town’s official code? It's one of the things a home inspector will usually pay a lot of attention to; if you are thinking of selling your home with a fireplace or wood stove, you should have it inspected first. There are a variety of professionals who are trained in wood unit safety, including:

• the local fire department
• building inspector
• wood heat retailer
• local chimney sweep.

If you plan to install a new chimney or wood-heating appliance, or replace one wood stove with another, many municipalities require a building permit. If that's the case, the building inspector will automatically inspect the installation.

Insurance Issues
There are five points any insurance company will be concerned with:

1.) Is it an approved unit?
2.) Did a professional install it?
3.) Was a building permit issued?
4.) Are the clearances up to the latest Building Code and Fire Code? There is no "grand fathering" of this requirement.
5.) Is the venting system proper? Ideally there should be no elbows in the stovepipe and it should be as short as possible.

Having a properly installed wood heat system and making it safer means the best possible premium for insurance coverage. You should inform your insurance company or broker whenever a change is made to the wood heat system. This includes adding or changing a wood stove, modifying a chimney - anything that may influence the safety of the wood heat system.

Safety: There are a number of basic safety steps required for the proper maintenance of a wood burning appliance you should also be aware of.

• Have it cleaned on a regular basis.
• Inspect it at least twice a year for corrosion.
• Have a smoke detector and a fire extinguisher nearby.

Want to know more - call us today at the Quintal Insurance Agency. To speak with one of our agents, please call us at 860-564-3315 or toll free at 1-800-292-1127, Monday - Friday between 8:30 am - 5:00 pm. For your convenience, you may also reach us by fax at 860-564-8253 or Contact Us.

For a quote please call
1-800-292-1127 or click here

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