I should clarify that this will be a wood insert for an existing masonry fireplace. Thanks.

The installer will know if any permits are necessary. Make sure the installer is certified if that's possible. Contact your insurance company and ask them what documents are necessary for coverage. They'll probably want proof the installer knows what he's doing. That's what we did when we had our stove installed and the insurance company had no problems. My premium didn't even go up.

Nope. Just make sure the installer is certified. It's pointless telling the city or insurance company. There goes your energy saving out the window. When you buy a home, insurance companys NEVER asks if there is an insert.

Just make sure you get a big enough insert for your home.

P.S - down the road an inspector can still come out and see if it was installed correctly.

Also - Wood stoves need permits but inserts not because an insert is just that, an insert. Chimney already in place so its not like you're building one.

If you don't tell your insurance company, and there's a fire caused by a faulty installation of the insert, you may have your claim denied. It's no big deal to inform yoour agent of any changes like this. And what do you mean by "energy savings"? We save energy by using our woodstove.

I appreciate your feedback, thanks! Looking forward to warming up these winter days - expecting 5-10" of snow tomorrow. Sure wish we already had our insert....!

Are you anywhere near Syracuse where they got 12 feet in one storm in February? I have a friend in Mexico, NY and she said she never saw so much snow, where they had to jump out their second story windows to get out. The final measurement was 146 inches.

We're about a 45-min drive from Syracuse, in Hamilton. We didn't get nearly as much as Mexico did during that storm - I think we were "only" somewhere around 2 feet. I remember seeing the news from Mexico, though, with folks shoveling FEET of snow from their roofs. Pretty impressive. Hope your friend came through that storm without damage - was there even electricity after that one?

Final tally for today is around 8", and it came down FAST!

Just make sure your installation is Wett certified.

Keep the receipts for the insurance company and that should take care of that.

I don't think they had much of a power interupption as the wind wasn't much of a factor.
Over here in VT we ended up with about 18 inches total. It's powder so shoveling the driveway will be no big deal. Our Regency is chugging away with the temp outside at 0 right now.

Gees, I wonder if insurance companies deny claims for people "buying" electric heaters that end up causing fires.

Do we need to tell them we added electric heaters in the house too?

Dont do it, you'll regret it.

"...Dont do it, you'll regret it..."

It really depends on the insurance company. But if you're making a major improvement to the home and using something that can have surface temperatures of over 700 degrees, and it's not installed correctly, some insurance companies WILL deny the claim if they didn't know it was there. And living in the country, I see house fires more often than I care to that were caused by the NITWIT homeowner taking shortcuts installing the stove or insert. Is it really worth it?

Can the gas line be installed outside the wall along the wall