Fire pits can improve the aesthetics of your backyard and bring some warmth during those cold nights. However, beyond the warmth and beauty, it brings, knowing its impact on your home insurance can go a long way to help you know if it will affect your policy and the type of coverage you can obtain. So, if you have been wondering whether a fire pit table can affect your home insurance, then this post will answer any questions and doubts you might have.
|
Contents[hide]
|
Fire Pit and Home Insurance
To answer the question straight to the point: fire pit does affect home insurance, and there are quite several ways this can happen.
The first way fire pits may affect your home insurance policy is that they can lead to high premiums. This is because firepits are considered a potential fire hazard, especially wood-burning fire pits. This is because fire pits such as wood firepits generate sparks that can easily ignite other objects and cause damage to your home and its environs. Therefore, your insurance company may charge a much higher premium than a home without a fire pit to compensate for the risk a fire pit may pose.
Another way a fire pit may affect your home insurance is due to liability concerns. This refers to cases where someone gets injured in your home with the cause of the injury being the fire pit, or should someone's property get damaged or burnt with your fire pit being the source of the fire. Well, in such cases, you will be required to cover the necessary compensation needed for the person to recover or cover the cost of any damage caused. Therefore to cover this additional cost, the insurance company may increase your premiums.
However, the extent to which a fire pit affects a home insurance policy depends on the type of fire pit you have.
Types Of Fire Pits And How They Affect Your Home Insurance:
Portable vs Permanent Fire Pits
Generally, fire pits can be considered either permanent or portable. Portable firepits are those that can be moved around, whiles permanent are the fire pits that are built to be a permanent fixture in your background. These types of fire pits affect your policy differently. However, generally, a permanent firepit tends to attract a higher premium than a portable one.
Alternatively, some insurance companies might require that you have a separate liability plan to cover any liabilities your permanent fireplace may cause.
Related Reading: how far should a fire table be from the house?
Examples Of Fire Pits and Their Level of Risk:
Before diving into the examples, we will like to highlight that the fire pits mentioned below may either come as a portable or permanent type.
-
Wood Fire Pit
Wood fire pits are usually the most highly risky type of fire pits out there. Because they require wood and produce sparkles and smoke which can be hazardous. Therefore, homeowners with wood fire pits will tend to pay a higher premium than owners with other types of fire pits.
-
Propane Fire Pits
These fire pits are considered much safer than wood fire pits. This is because they do not produce sparks, and they have a lower risk of causing a fire. Also, they do not emit smoke like wood, therefore, they pose a lower health risk. Therefore, if you have a propane firepit, you may have to pay much lower premiums compared to having a wood fire pit. That being said, some insurance companies may consider the risk of a gas leak or explosion of a propane tank, as such, homeowners with permanent propane fire bits may be required to install anti-leak structures.
-
Natural Gas Fire Pits
Just like propane fire pits, natural gas fire pits are safe than propane. However, natural gas fire pits tend to be less risky than propane even in an event of a leak. This is because natural gas is lighter than propane; hence it wouldn't linger in the air for long in case of a leak.
-
Gel Fire Pits
This is another common fire pit homeowners may have, and it is the safest among the abovementioned fire pits. Therefore, insurance premiums for such firepits may be lower or provide more insurance coverage.
In Conclusion:
Even though a fire pit may increase the aesthetics and value of your home, it can also affect your home insurance policy. Therefore, you must check with your insurance company about the type of fire pit you have and how it affects your home insurance policy. Not disclosing the fact that you have a firepit may result in the insurance company denying you any coverage due; therefore, we recommend that you let your insurance agent know.