Oil Tank Insurance

Heating Oil Tank Insurance

Why Buy Oil Tank Insurance?

Because most heating oil tanks are underground, it is hard to monitor their condition. At some point, all objects underground will decompose. How long it takes for that to happen to oil tanks depends mainly on the acidity in the soil, but on average, we see most tanks lasting anywhere from 20 to 60 years.

Since most people don’t exactly know the acidity of their soil, or even how long their tank has been in the ground, we strongly recommend tank insurance for everyone.

The yearly cost of tank insurance is $84 dollars. The average cost of a new tank is $3,000. In Seattle, the average homeowner lives in the same house for about 10 years.

What exactly does it cover?

• The cost of the new tank.
• Backfilling and replacing the sod.

What is not covered?

• Soil clean up if leak happened (That is where PLIA comes in)
• Replacing any structures or objects that had been covering the tank

What is PLIA and do I need both?

PLIA stands for Polution Liability Insurance Agency. PLIA is a state government agency independent from any heating oil company. Registering for PLIA is free, and will cover the cleanup of the soil if a leak occurs. In a nutshell, tank insurance covers the tank, and PLIA covers the soil. For complete coverage, we recommend you have both tank insurance and PLIA.