As one would expect,
not every tank will qualify for a policy due to underwriting
restrictions. One of the great things about our online
application system is that you will know immediately if your
tank does not fit the profile of acceptability. If it doesn’t,
we will provide you with the information you need to get your
fuel oil system updated to the standards generally accepted by
the industry so that you can get coverage. For instance, if your
tank is underground, you may qualify for coverage, but you will
most likely need to get a tank tightness test before we can
issue you a policy. To make it easy for you, we will identify
several qualified tank testing companies providing service to
your area.
Like all products, oil
tanks have a “life expectancy”. Eventually, everything will wear
out and break down. Generally, underground tanks are made to
last about 20 years when properly installed. Environmental
conditions can accelerate or slow down this process, so there
can be situations where 10 year old tanks can be in worse
condition than a 40 year old tank. There is no set,
straightforward answer to how long your particular tank will
last. A simple comparison would be to look at this policy though
someone might be applying for life insurance. A 50 year old
smoker will more likely have or develop health issues compared
to a 20 year old non-smoker. Therefore, the insurance company
may choose to not insure the smoker, or charge a lot more
premium due to the increased risk of smoking and age.
Many homeowners are not aware of
the exact age of their tank. If your town or city hall does not
have any record of the installation date, you may want to check
with your oil dealer – they may have done the installation
themselves. Lacking the exact known age of your tank, simply use
the year that your home was built instead to figure the number
of years.
Take our previous example about
the smokers. The insurance company almost always needs to check
the current health of all applicants by having bloodwork done as
well as reviewing doctor’s records. This will give them a good
idea of the general health of the applicants. Likewise, our
insurance company needs to know how “healthy” your underground
tank is – especially since no one can visually inspect the tank
because it is buried in the ground. The tank test will provide
them with that information with reasonable certainty. Above
ground tanks can be seen by you and your oil dealer, so testing
is not required for an above ground tank.
After you or the testing company
has sent us the testing results, we will review them and send
you an email letting you know if your tank has been approved
along with an invoice for the cost of the insurance.
If you like the quote shown online
and you would like us to issue you a policy, simply click the
“Submit” button. We will email you an invoice and once we’ve
received your payment, we will issue your policy for you. Or, if
we’ve sent you an invoice after we have gotten your tank test results, again, send us your payment with the enclosed invoice.
What’s more, in the very
near future, we will be updating the website so that you will be
able to issue and pay for the policy online all by yourself!
When that feature is enabled, you will also be able to print out
a copy of your policy or if you prefer, electronically save it
as a PDF file. Better still, you can even do both if you’d like!
In the near future when the
website is set up that you can issue your own policy, you will
be prompted to pay for your policy through our secure online
payment system. You will be given the opportunity to decide if
you’d like to have future policy renewals paid for
automatically. We will send you a statement with each subsequent
renewal policy every year, advising you that your policy is due
to renew. We will proceed with securing payment in the same
manner as the previous year and you will receive a renewal
policy, indicating that it has been renewed.
Certainly, not everyone trusts the
internet no matter how secure a website may claim it is. Once
the online payment feature is enabled, you will be prompted at
the appropriate screen advising you of your other options.
Please understand that no policy will be issued without full
payment upfront. Therefore, there will be a delay in policy
issuance should you choose one of our other payment methods.
Also, the auto-pay renewal option as described above will not be
available to clients who choose a payment method other than
payment online.
Of course you can.
Click here for an application. Be advised though that the
process will take much longer if we must do it manually in our
office. We developed this website at the urging of many people
over the years that need this insurance in a time sensitive
fashion.
Any changes to the policy must be
requested in writing to us either by calling, emailing or
writing to us using the information provided below. At this time, our system does not have the
capability of allowing you, the client, to make any changes
online to your policy. However, for your convenience, work is
currently underway to the website which will give you the
ability to make limited changes to your policy such as address
changes, cancellations, fuel oil system changes/upgrades and
future billing methods.
George J. Smith & Son Insurance Agency:
247 Broad Street, Milford, CT 06460
TEL: 203.882.2988, FAX: 203.876.9886
questions@tankinfo.com
Generally, the cost for this
insurance runs from around $100 to $200 annually, depending upon
which state the tank is located in and what type of tank it is.
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In some states, this policy is
what is referred to as a "Surplus Lines Policy". Most insurance
policies you are familiar with are "Admitted Policies". Surplus
Lines Policies are handled differently than Admitted Policies. One
major difference is that the tax that is always associated with
the purchase of an insurance policy is included within the premium
when it is an admitted policy. When it is a Surplus Lines Policy,
the tax is in addition to the cost of the policy. If you look at
the last page of your Application, you will see the costs of that
tax, if any, depending upon which state your tank is in.
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Subject to all policy terms,
conditions and exclusions, coverage can be summarized simply by
stating that this policy provides for required cleanup costs which
are the result of a release of fuel oil from a covered fuel oil
system. Total limit of coverage available is $25,000 or $50,000
annually subject to a deductible ranging from $2,500 to $5,000,
depending upon your tank and state.
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Consider what a homeowner’s claim might cost and what you pay
for that policy. Depending upon the value of your home, you
probably pay between $400 and $1,200 for your homeowner’s
policy. Our experience has found that claims against homeowner’s
policies often average around $1,000 to $2,000. On the former
CLEAR Program, our average claim was over $8,000 with the policy
costing around $200. Keeping in mind that most homeowner’s
policies do not provide for pollution cleanup of your own
property, it has become obvious to tens of thousands of
homeowners in the Northeast that this coverage has great value.
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Should you sell your home in the
future, the new owners would be afforded the opportunity to
transfer this important coverage over to themselves. At this time,
the underwriters are not requiring any additional testing or
underwriting to complete a transfer. Of course, the new homeowners
would have a new policy effective date and would have to pay a new
annual premium.
At this time, a transfer can be requested by the prospective
homebuyer by completing a new application and attaching a brief
note detailing the date of the closing so we may assign a policy
effective date closest to that closing date. Discussions are under
way about implementing a simpler method using a Transfer Form and
we will advise any future changes.
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