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Home insurance

L

Little dog brewery

Does anyone have experience with the home insurance aspects of having a brewery in the basement with a propane fired kettle? I have an excellent powerful hood vent, combustible gas/CO detector and a close by fire extinguisher.
 
  If your a Old Salty Dog, set in your ways, and been brewing in your basement with an open propane flame for years, then I have no comment.
But if your pretty new to brewing. Then I would say be carefull, Make sure you always brew with another person. And best of all, Take it outside if at all possible.
stevemwazup.
 
Thanks for the reply. I have been brewing (all grain) for about 15 years but only the last 4 have been in my basement. I think I take all the necessary precautions to avoid trouble but a close friend who sold insurance all his life said I probably should notify my insurance company of my situation. He said even if a fire started some where else from some other cause the insurance company could give me problems because I never reported the basement brewery. On the other hand I take the chance of a large increase in insurance cost. I just wanted to know if anyone else has faced the same problem and what they did about it

Thanks again Steve.
Al
 
    I'm glad to hear that your brewing safe.
I was envisioning a kid with a new toy playing with matches (or some thing like that).
Your years of experience is welcomed. I think you'll find some cool guys here  at the forum.
stevemwazup
 
I used to sell insurance and though it was a few years ago, I would say you are fine as long as they didn't ask you any questions related to it in/on your application for insurance (if they do and your answer changes, it is your responsibility to report the change).

One caveat to that is if your are doing it commercially, that changes the game completely, but assuming you are drinking/sharing what you make.

I will also add that I am no longer licensed, nor was I likely licensed in your state, so seeing if anyone at the local homebrew meeting has a buddy that works for an insurance company may be the best bet for specific answers in your area.

Hope that helps a little
 
Little dog brewery said:
..........a close friend who sold insurance all his life said I probably should notify my insurance company of my situation. He said even if a fire started some where else from some other cause the insurance company could give me problems because I never reported the basement brewery.

I imagine many of us brew in the garage, which is equally part of the house as a basement.  Or is it different in the eyes of an insurer?  Non-conditioned air space, etc.?
 
Cooking with a propane cooker in a basement is a risk factor that if over time proves to be a factor that insurance companies need to factor in to rates may start to be asked when you get insurance. Some areas and companies have avoided policies or raised rates for such things as trampolines, pools, and pitbulls due to the increased risk.

If homebrewers are safe and aren't commercially brewing in their homes, there will likely be no change.
 
I would always notify the insurance company of such things like home brewing with propane fire. Maybe the insurance costs will be increased but I think it's worth it. Just imagine the worst case, you set your basement on fire and the household insurance won't pay for the damage since working with propane fired kettle was not included in your insurance policy ... I'd rather pay a little more insurance than having to pay for a damage caused by fire.
 
Unless the thing you are doing is "EXCLUDED" in the Exclusions page of your home owner's policy then it is covered.

Read the insurance form you signed.
You know like people need to read their mortgage documents before signing them.  Read it. There will be a page titles "Exclusions"  get that and pour over it. If home made propane  cooking apparatus  ( or anything like that) is NOT mentioned then you are probably golden.

There will be something about not storing flammables in the home or attached buildings.  so keep tin the tanks elsewhere is a good idea - and doubly so because those regulators are not designed to be used in a residence. Which of course means they can leak.  They tend not to, and the valve on the tanks are pretty good but ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
 
Don't be telling your insurance company anything unless you wish to purchase a rider or other specialized coverage.
 
CR said:
Unless the thing you are doing is "EXCLUDED" in the Exclusions page of your home owner's policy then it is covered.

This is not necessarily true.  If there is an incident, the insurance company will investigate.  If it turns out the homeowner caused the fire through negligence (which includes using dangerous products in a manner which contravenes the safety instructions), I'm pretty sure they'll find a way to avoid paying.  After all, you get nothing from the insurance company if you burn your house down yourself.

It is worth noting that every propane burner (at least that I've seen) comes with explicit instructions never to use it indoors.  There are very real dangers associated with this.  Propane is heavier than air, so you can have a leak which you cannot smell, and which will come to your attention only when the gas reaches the level of the burner -- it gets your attention then by exploding.  Yes, there are safety features on the burners and the propane tanks which are designed to prevent leaks and explosions, but one only has to look at the Gulf of Mexico right now to understand the limitations of safety features.
 
This is not necessarily true.

Actually, it is necessarily true.
The exclusions page is to be taken literally and the agreement between the company and the insured will be enforced according to it's terms.

What is an issue is whether  the layman  can read  those  exclusions  the way a court will.

It is also true is that some  s (not all)  insurance companies will seek to  deny claims until a court orders them to pay and they can be very creative about the denials.  They are in the business not to insure your property, but to make money taking a gamble on whether your property will need replacing.  Ergo their true vested interest is in making money  and depending on the  sort of company they are, if that means screwing you over then that's what it means.

the insurance company will investigate.
Yah and it won't be for their health or from mere protocol.
It's always all about the money

If it turns out the homeowner caused the fire through negligence

Well sort of, kind of, maybe and maybe not.
Ya see negligence is a jury question.  If the home owner abrogates the making of determinations to  some corporate employee of  an insurance company  (the ones with a cash interest)  the  home owner will be making a serious error.
After all the Exclusions page  is in fact the end and beginning of what they won't cover.
If it isn't in there, then they can't add it to it later on using vague expressions and complaints about negligence or lack of care. .
If a person won't read it carefully then there's no helping them.  - - At least they can't add to it and do so risk free.  that's why we have the Courts. When partners in an agreement differ,  they need a place to take those differences.

In a regulated and litigation enforced environment  a homeowner's insurance company's policy can not  be vague or wildly open ended and the insurance company has to be subject to the vagaries of the demographic they choose to do business with.
Which includes hobbies.

I'm pretty sure they'll find a way to avoid paying.
For some companies, it is in their interest to deny claims so long as they are doing business with people who won't or can't hold them accountable. 

  After all, you get nothing from the insurance company if you burn your house down yourself.
If you read your exclusions page/s you find that among the things which are excluded.

Some companies are more inclined to deny claims than others.  Some depend more on word of mouth in the industry for their client base than slick TV ads. Some, never advertise on TV. 

There is only one insurance company I'll use and it's also the only insurance company whose stock I'll own.
They are more interested in paying claims quickly than  dallying and nickel and dimeing you.
I've submitted claims of several thousands of dollars each & more than once  and never even seen an adjuster. They just settled the claim within a week. 






 
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