Insurance can’t bring back a lost life
Do you ever walk into a grocery store and wonder why you can’t bring in the old propane bottle and exchange for the new one inside?
Perhaps you want to return a gas-powered lawn mower and are not allowed to bring your full-of-gas-and-I-can-prove-it defective mower into the hardware store?
Is there a neighbour you feel is rather anal because he or she always shuts the gas line off after using all their gas powered equipment and wonder—what’s up with that?
Maybe you have heat in your garage and don’t understand why the wood stove or furnace has to have the firebox a minimum of 18 inches off the floor. Or maybe wonder why some insurance companies decline homes with wood burning units in the garage?
Are you lost as to why you need a Mechanical Fitness to obtain a Plated Ownership on a used car?
The reasons vary, but they have one common denominator: SAFETY. As part of the manufacture’s effort to keep you safe they include a manual for the appliance as well as putting warnings on the actual appliance in many cases.
Manuals should be read—I know it takes time and hurts my head too, but you suffer less than turning a garage into a flaming inferno. If an item is old, or the manual is lost, ask the anal neighbour or do some research online. Don’t be afraid to ask! Each fall I tell at least a dozen people their wood stove/heater firebox has to be at least 18 inches off the floor of their garage—and if the clearances encroaches on the ceiling allowance, I tell them how to shield it so it meets the Federal Building Code (B 365). No, it isn’t a special Insurance regulation—it’s the building code of the country.
When people ask me how I determined proper clearances, I generally I find the information on the back of the wood stove or in the manual. If neither is available I check the company website and if there is no company or label on the back I suggest they remove the unit and put in a certified one because of SAFETY. You wouldn’t drive a 30 year old car without having someone who knows what they are doing inspect it, so call a WETT certified inspector or Sweep to check your old (or new for that matter) wood burner. Yes, it costs money, but it is cheaper than the lives of you and your family!
Be your own on site Risk Manager and if you don’t know, ask someone who does—all going well you will avoid some dangerous perhaps tragic situations. Doing this will lessen the chances of you having a claim and less claims me better insurance rates.
Insurance covers a great number of things but it can’t bring back a lost life. Take care of the physical risks first, and then give us a call so we can take care of the financial risk!
