Do you heat entirely or partially with oil? Shopping for your home insurance? Be patient with your pain.
Several insurers will refuse to cover a home heated with oil or if the tank is in the basement. No insurer will agree to insure a tank buried in the ground.
Insurers don’t say it openly, but they hate oil tanks. For what? Because a leaking tank risks contaminating your country and, worse, your neighbor’s.
A tiny hole from the disaster
And it’s often insidious: a small hole in the tank can leak 1,000 liters of heating oil, and a liter of heating oil leak can contaminate 1 million liters of drinking water, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (LAC) recalls. A leak can last for years and often goes unnoticed. Imagine the astronomical cost of cleaning up a leak that is contaminating the water table…
As such, it is not uncommon for an owner to have to undertake $50,000 in work to replace contaminated soil. To these works are often added the replacement of part of the foundation and the bottom plate (if the tank was in the basement), landscaping and … the oil tank itself!
Limited Coverages
Oil heaters are not covered by household contents insurance because oil is harmful to the environment. Some insurers offer an addendum (supplement to the contract) that covers damage caused by heating oil, but prices are high and coverage is limited, both for direct damage (to your property) and liability insurance (the insurer has to take you to court defend). if you pollute the neighbor).
And insurers are suspicious. Before accepting, they multiply questions about the condition of your system and tank. And you must follow strict standards for installation or replacement.
In particular, it must be placed far enough off the ground on a concrete structure, if possible installed in a concrete slab with edges to prevent ground penetration. The tank, pipes and fittings must also be protected from falling ice and snow accumulation.
A tank needs to be replaced every 10 years if it is outdoors and every 20 years if it is indoors. As soon as you notice an odor, call the company that services your heating system and your insurer. Request an inspection every two years.
After all, heating with oil is becoming less and less economical because of the fight against greenhouse gases and is tolerated by the authorities. You can get grants to switch to a different heating mode. Info: https://transitionenergetique.gouv.qc.ca/residentiel/programmes/chauffez-vert.
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