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I want to call my insurance company and inform them of my intentions of placing my Tarm boiler in my shop. My storage tanks are ASME. Does anyone have any opinions on what I should have prepared for when I try to explain gasification boilers.
Yes, I've been through this with State Farm. Go in person. Bring your boilers brochure with you. They actually made a copy of mine from Bioheat. I had to talk to the person in charge of the office because the other salesperson in the office didn't understand the difference between a wood stove and a wood boiler installation even after making calls to the "main office". In the end all went well. They will be coming out and giving the final installation a look-see when its done. Their main concerns were with clearances to the wall, UL listing, and that I would be getting permitted and inspected. Plus, no surprise, a small raise in premiums. Might shop around for a new company after this is done to avoid that surcharge. Anticipate some static and be patient in explaining what the system is about. The building inspector, my next stop that day, was shown the same brochure, and a plumbing schematic, and my copy of the Mechanical Code book used here, that I'd already purchased. He asked about the UL approval, and said follow the manufacturer's installation guidelines. After that I breathed a sigh of relief and ordered my Tarm. Good luck.
If possible, deal with a person or company that insures rural and farm properties. I had to switch companies to get coverage, and I found an insurer that normally handles farm property. They had a person on staff who was well-versed in all types of biomass-burning installs and from there getting a policy written was no problem. It turned out to be less expensive than my previous insurer's coverage for the woodstove.
Good luck - this was the most difficult part of my install.
I've been with my agent for a long time. For the house with the
EB boiler they first wanted to know if I had a wood stove in it when I
had the policy written. I didn't at the time but informed them it was
set up with a stack ect. and I would be installing a wood boiler. No problem. They just
wanted to know about the install including photos. I pay an extra
charge for the wood stove less than 50 bucks a year. My insurance
premium is higher because of long distance to fire department and wildland
interface, not the wood boiler.
When I first called the agent, he didn't seem concerned, as he has a few
places covered with wood boilers similar to mine. MM
I agree with Medman, I switched to homeowners insurance through my local farm bureau, I had no problem with the Tarm boiler, and the Rottweiler. The coverage was better and cheaper.
I contacted my Insurance company, I already had woodstove that they knew about. They didn't have any issues with the boiler and since I already had the woodstove there was no more increase in my premium (already included because of the woodstove).
I contacted my insurance provider today and was told that they were going to investigate the TARM,but they stated they would not normally insure a outbuilding with any type of wood fired heat. I did give them the history of TARM and the BIOHEAT website. I also told them I would put a packet together of all components of my system.
They might assume you're outbuilding would be a "garage", where gasoline and other stuff/vehicles are stored. I had to reclassify my "garage" as a "wood storage facility". My garage is not connected to my house. My Tarm is about 100ft from my oil fired boiler in my basement. I would look around to another ins co if they can't help you. Be patient, and shop around. They have no problem if you put this in your basement(below where your family lives), but have a problem if you put this in an unattached building? Trust me, have had that conversation also. Good luck