Greetings from Batawa, Ontario.
The following is a letter I forwarded to my local MPP on Wednesday, 10 March 2010:
Mr Rinaldi
After pursuing the matter of entering into a microFIT contract and having my house insurance dropped, the following situation has come to light:
When I "staff checked" this in December, my insurance broker (as most other brokers in the province) simply did not "understand the gravity" of the term "microFIT". I got "the verbal go ahead", insurance wise, to carry on with promulgating a microFIT deal.
What I should have also asked of my broker back in December was...
microFIT will provide me with taxable income for 20 years by selling my power back to the grid. Does this fact still allow me to simply add this system as a rider on my existing home policy?
I expanded my insurance broker search for a solution to this situation. After I asked the second question, home insurance coverage became (practically speaking) impossible.
There is only "Bay of Quinte Mutual" willing to underwrite a home with solar panels AND a microFIT contract.
Please forward this information "up the chain". I suspect there are many innocent folks out there thinking they are covered for both solar panels on their roof-top AND business income/liability. The Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure should publish a warning to have all current microFIT homeowners re-discuss the insurance situation with this following question....
microFIT will provide me with taxable income for 20 years by selling my power back to the grid. Does this fact still allow me to simply add this system as a rider on my existing home policy?
...as part of the discussion. It may simply be a prudent thing to do, from a liability standpoint.
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Also, please note the following as of 10 March 2010:
My broker has confirmed that Gore Mutual, Dominion of Canada, Economical Mutual, Intact, Royal and SunAlliance and Western Assurance have advised that nothing has changed in their underwriting rules that would allow them to insure homes participating in the Microfit program.
Thanks
Mike