Insurance Rumor

I heard that staring in 2010 if you install a coal or wood burning device in your home, you will not be able to get insurance on your home. If you already have one in your home than your safe. Has anyone else heard of this? If this is true, it sounds like the oil and gas companies are in bed with the insurance companies.

I'll venture a guess this is just that, a rumor. An insurance comapany refuse money? Just doesn't seem that would ever happen. Perhaps double your rate, but deny insurance? Naaaaa

I hope your right. I already have my source of coal heat in place. I was just thinking of those who might be considering switching to coal for heat in the near future. On a side note, I do know here in Pennsylvania if you buy an older home with fuses instead of a breaker panel, you can not get home owners insurance until get rid of the fuses and install a breaker panel. I thnk it has something to do with being a fire hazard, and maybe they're using this same logic for the coal and wood burners.

I don't know about that fuse rumor, never heard it. Few years back I bought a home with fuses, they gave me insurance no problem. House I am in now has circuit breakers. I am from the old school, fuses are ok in my book. To reinforce that, have you ever seen a locked or jammed circuit breaker? I have. You could not turn off the power if you wanted, had to shut off the mains. A fuse was meant to blow under excessive current, you were supposed to fix the problem before putting in a new one. But people now a days want to just reset the breaker and go about their lazy ways. I am not an electrician for a living but ask one about Federal Pacific breaker boxes, how they were known to start house fires. I can't see an insurance company refusing to insure a house because of coal heat or boiler, they have to pay out many more claims with people heating with wood I would suspect.

I'm a electrcian by trade and I'll tell you this. Federal Pacific boxes are hit and miss. Some work like there supposed to others just don't work period. I think your required to change them by most insurance companys. Federal Pacific had a commercial line though that was just as good as anybody's. The best panel on the market today IMO is the cutler hammers. Next in line is Square D. As far as a coal boiler being a fire hazard The fire is completey surronded by water !

We sold my Mom's house a few years back. Before we could sell it we had to remove all exposed knob & tube electric wires. The ones in the wall were OK to leave.

Just a side note. You can still buy Stab-Lock breakers in Canada. They are made by Schnider, the same company that makes Square D and are sold under the name Federal Pioneer. My house had an old Federal Pacific box in it but I have since ripped it out and replaced with Square D QO. No one said I had to but circumstances required a bigger box.

I have not heard the insurance rumor either. Why would they want to do that?

Every state is tightening the building and occupancy permit requirements. It's almost aways a result of some public safety issue that the legislature determines should be enforced. In general when a home is sold, i.e. the title changes hands, the home must be "brought up to current code". Only then will an occupancy permit be issued. It's likely insurance companies have and will continue to refuse insurance to homes without an occupancy permit. Why would any insurance company want to write a policy on a home that doesn't meet current building code standards? Coal or wood burning appliances are classified as solid fuel appliances. Many states have stringent requirements on the certification of the appliance itself and it's installation. I don't think the oil and gas companies have anything to do with the trend to more stringent requirement. Oil and gas appliances have their own stringent requirements.

I hate to say it, but some insurance company "rule makers" look at it this way: can a homeowner, through neglect, burn his house down? If the answer is yes then they want to make a code to prevent it. It is pretty hard to burn a house down with a gas furnace or oil boiler because the technician does all the work and the homeowner just calls him when there is no heat. Coal on the other hand, now we have a suffocation hazard nearby or inside the house with the coal pile, a carbon monoxide hazard if the ash door is left open, a fire hazard if the thing is allowed to burn out of control and melt a hole in the flue pipe, it's a lot for the pencil pushers to worry about. They don't like fuses because the answer to a blown 15amo fuse is to screw in a 40 amp fuse. If that blows then a couple pennies solves the problem for good but hmm, what's that odd burning smell?

They make 40 amp fuses? Oh good! I'll have to get some for north camp. *snicker*
True story: When my wife and I bought our first house it had a 60 amp fused panel. It had four fuses. One dedicated to the furnace, I'm sure for safety. One went to all the ceiling lights. The third one went for all the outlets and everything else. The four one? Silly boy, a spare of course!

I still occaisonally see homes with 30 amp 120 volt service. If I had to decide between living in a house with knob and tube wiring or aluminum wiring, I'd pick the knob and tube everytime. Knob and tube is ok as long as you don't insulate over it. Then you've got trouble.

If my house insurance goes up much more, I will just cancel it. I have even considered having the electricity shut off. If I didn't like my current location so much I would move into the boondocks and forget about utilities and insurance. There are a lot of Amish in this area, and their lifestyle fassenates me. I think we can learn a lot from them even if we don't make all the cultural changes.

Ask an Amish how much he pays for gas he's gonna smile an give you all you want for free! Scott

The Amish say when you use a tractor all you get out is smoke, the horse provides fertilizer.