Home Heating Oil Storage....The What If's

[dave1949]

Years ago, pre-EPA, a friend converted from oil to gas but neglected to tell the oil company and also didn't remove the exterior fill pipe for his basement tank. You know the rest of the story.


I agree with the posters who don't miss having an oil tank. I have propane now and will never have another oil furnace. You have the liability of oil spills and the cost to replace the tank periodically. Also the oil burner itself eats money in cleaning, maintenance and repairs compared to gas. Of course, once is awhile, a gas-fueled home does explode and gets blown to smithereens. :laughing:

Dave.

 

[Storm56]

What if there was a several hundred gallon fuel oil spill in your basement that occurred during a fill from your supplier...who is liable for the cost of cleanup and repairs to damaged property? Lets also say that there was no proven wrong doing by the company that was performing the delivery.....but rather a case of a tank/plumbing failure due to age of the system so the delivery company is claiming zero responsibility.

Keep in mind that with floor drains and/or sump pumps that are in the basements of a lot of homes can quickly allow the spill to find its way into waterways and/or municipal sewer systems. At that point, the problem escalates into a full blown environmental issue with the involvement of state licensed response teams called in to deal with the situation. The cost now can be well beyond what a homeowner can possibly cope with.

Also keep in mind that a spill can occur without a delivery taking place. The supports for tanks (metal legs rusting, etc) can fail at any time causing a tank to tip resulting in rupturing of the drain line.

Will your homeowners insurance pick up this cost for damage/cleanup? You may want to present a scenario such as this to your agent to find out...I think you may find that the majority of policies will not cover this as written.

Save yourself from what could turn out to be the biggest financial burden in your life....make the call to your insurance agent and ask the question.:thumbsup:

As I have mentioned in these forums before I own an insurance agency. I had some free time this morning so I did a bit of research to reinforce my initial thoughts on this subject.

The newer more comprehensive forms of homeowner insurance will pay to clean the mess up that effects the HOME. Some of the more basic policies will not. Some policies will also pay to clean up the contents that are damaged, some will not. So there is no cut and dried answer here, call your agent if there is a concern and verify your coverage.

As far as cleanup costs after the fuel oil gets outside of the home, you are on your own there. I could not find any policy that would pay for clean up costs, property damage, or any liability on any oil that would escape the home and get into a stream, sewer system, well, neighbors property, etc etc. Those items are specifically excluded on every policy I checked.

Hope this info is helpful. This info is for PA, other states and countries may vary.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

As I have mentioned in these forums before I own an insurance agency. I had some free time this morning so I did a bit of research to reinforce my initial thoughts on this subject.

The newer more comprehensive forms of homeowner insurance will pay to clean the mess up that effects the HOME. Some of the more basic policies will not. Some policies will also pay to clean up the contents that are damaged, some will not. So there is no cut and dried answer here, call your agent if there is a concern and verify your coverage.

As far as cleanup costs after the fuel oil gets outside of the home, you are on your own there. I could not find any policy that would pay for clean up costs, property damage, or any liability on any oil that would escape the home and get into a stream, sewer system, well, neighbors property, etc etc. Those items are specifically excluded on every policy I checked.

Hope this info is helpful. This info is for PA, other states and countries may vary.

What about blanket liability policies?

 

[FastPauly]

After making the call, my insurance agent left me with the impression that I had no need to worry. My coverage would handle all aspects related to the incident. I live in PA.....maybe I need to have them show me this in writing....I quess you would call it insurance assurance.

 

[Storm56]

What about blanket liability policies?

Do you mean an umbrella policy? If so they are still excluded. You must remember that homeowner and umbrella policies are not meant to cover any commercial exposures, and cleaning up a fuel oil spill is a coverage you would buy on a commercial policy, generally as a rider, and they do not come cheap. Cleaning up a fuel spill is VERY EXPENSIVE, and costs can run into the millions pretty quickly. This type of risk is just not calculated into the cost of these policies.

 

[Storm56]

After making the call, my insurance agent left me with the impression that I had no need to worry. My coverage would handle all aspects related to the incident. I live in PA.....maybe I need to have them show me this in writing....I quess you would call it insurance assurance.

If they mean the cleanup to the home and perhaps contents, then yes have them show you in the policy for your peace of mind. The liability for cleanup once it leaves the home is spelled out in the liability section as one of the exclusions.

I write for 5 different home insurers, they all have the exclusion.