Do Insurance Companies Cover Wood Stoves?

As long as you meet the coverage requirements, most home insurance companies will cover wood or pellet stoves. These conditions differ depending on the provider, but they typically include professional installation and a safety inspection by an official inspector.

Insurers are more cautious about providing policies to homes that rely solely on stoves for heating. This means that if you intend to heat your home solely with a wood-burning or pellet stove, you may have a more difficult time obtaining coverage than other customers.

What are the insurance requirements for wood-burning stoves?

If your wood or pellet stove was professionally installed or meets local fire codes, your insurance provider may only offer you coverage. Expect to pay an additional fee if the insurer requires a licensed contractor to install the stove.

If you installed your own stove, or if it was installed before you purchased the property, you may be required to provide documentation to prove that your stove is safe before the insurer will agree to cover you. You may also be required to provide proof that your wood or pellet stove model has been defect-inspected. If you own a wood- or pellet-burning stove, your insurance company considers you responsible for its upkeep and may conduct regular inspections to ensure that it is in good working order.

It's not unusual for your homeowners insurance to exclude coverage if your stove causes damage. Most policies will cover you if a fire damages your home or personal property. However, some policies exclude coverage for damage caused by faulty or inadequate workmanship, installation, or maintenance.

Assume you build your own wood-burning stove. If your insurance company does not require an inspection and your home burns down, your policy may not cover you if the fire was caused by your own negligence.

Does a wood-burning stove increase home insurance premiums?

If you have a wood-burning or pellet stove, your premiums will most likely rise, but the increase will be minimal.

Because wood-burning stoves cause far more residential fires than pellet stoves, their costs may be higher. Companies may levy a separate charge if you install a wood- or pellet-burning stove instead of raising your premiums.

Your insurer may classify your wood stove as a space heater or other type of heating appliance. If this is the case, having a wood stove may not raise your insurance rates.

Homeowners insurance and wood stoves

After you notify the insurer about your wood-burning stove, the insurer will most likely send an inspector to your home. If the insurer requires an inspection, you will not be covered until you pass. To regulate heat and transport harmful gases out of the living space, a wood-burning stove, like a traditional fireplace, requires a connection to a chimney.

Insurance inspectors will ensure that the connection between your stove and the chimney is clear, well-sealed, and in accordance with local fire codes. Before signing off on your stove, inspectors may also inspect the chimney for cleanliness and a top cover.

If you have a wood-burning stove, your insurer may require annual or semiannual inspections to ensure that your home is not an insurance risk. To prevent sparks from spreading, most safety guidelines recommend clearing the three feet surrounding the fireplace or stove, or fitting the area with a screen. An inspector may also want to make sure that your wood stove and chimney are free of creosote, which is a soot-like and highly flammable byproduct of wood.

Homeowners insurance and pellet stoves

Pellet stoves often have a smaller impact on home insurance premiums than wood-burning models because they are much less likely to cause house fires.

Pellet stoves use compressed wood pieces or sawdust to generate heat instead of logs. This method is less expensive, cleaner, and does not produce jumping sparks. Pellet stoves do not produce a lot of creosote because they burn cleaner fuel. In addition, your pellet stove does not require a chimney connection for ventilation. Any ongoing inspections required by your provider for your pellet stove may be less stringent than if you had a wood-burning stove.

Pellet stoves, unlike wood-burning stoves, require a power source. To feed pellets into the stove's burning compartment, they must use an auger. Maintain a battery backup for the pellet stove for insurance purposes, as insurance companies have very specific exclusions for losses caused by power outages.

Some insurers will not cover power outages unless they are caused by weather, fires, or other insured perils. Consider a power outage at a utility plant that isn't caused by weather or another insured peril. Assume that this outage also causes you to lose power. If a power outage damages the circuitry of your electronically heated pellet stove, you may be unable to file a claim for replacement.