Michael Koblic wrote:

Has anyone had problems with their house insurance because they bought a
piece of machinery? Specifically mills/lathes? Is there a size limit of any
kind where the insurance company may begin to take interest as to what you
are running in your garage/basement?

In the US, I'm pretty sure this will vary quite a bit between companies,
between states and even in different areas within states. Folks in rural
areas will probably be more likely to have large tools covered by
default as they would be considered normal for the area.

Beyond that, homeowner's policies cover "personal property", so unless
you are operating a business, your tools no matter how large are
"personal property". You may have to argue that a metalworking hobby
isn't any different than a woodworking hobby or a ceramics hobby, but
you should ultimately prevail since your tax records will show your
tools aren't part of a business. Insurance companies wouldn't likely
argue about covering the loss of a $2,500 table saw, so a $2,500 mill
shouldn't be any different.

My policy lists some $120k coverage for "personal property", plus
additional coverages for computer equipment and "teleworker" coverage.
If we don't count vehicles since they have separate policies, the
coverage should be adequate to replace my stuff if it were all destroyed
by a tornado or the like. Since the shop is 80' from the house, the
chances of a loss on both at the same time is fairly low. The shop
building itself should fall under the "dwelling extension" coverage and
the $16k there should be enough to replace the 20'x32' building.

All policies have exclusions for "hazardous materials", but the fine
print in the exclusions excludes small quantities of such materials that
would be considered "normal", which should include the gas can for the
mower, paint thinner and the like.