Voluntary oil tank pull / exchange for above-groun unit (city hall, homeowners insurance)

[PolishEDview]

I have 550gal oil tank in-ground insured/covered for years so also monitored to some degree. I think about exchanging it for above-ground one in basement. Reasons are that I hope for closer monitoring, better oil management and in case of leak lesser, more flexible damage control. Maybe also easier to sell if anything.
Does it make sense to do that because of all the above and/or any other reasons I overlooked? What are the cons besides price?
Also, should I take that voluntary pull (tank) option for additional $200 annually and wait 12months if most likely there is no leak or contamination due to monitoring from recent so called tank insurer? I know that due to deductible, cost of voluntary pull would be on my part anyway but I would be covered in case of damages to environment found.
What are your thoughts fellow NJ residents ?

[HalfFull]

Be very very careful before taking any action. Read, and maybe have an attorney read, your policy in detail.

You need to fully understand what happens if there has been a leak and coverages for soil, and for water (3rd party).

As far as I know, most policies only cover the dirt. If water is involved, it can get MUCH more expensive very quickly.

Check other threads on here, especially from poster called Kiru -- you should probably send a direct message to Kiru as well as that poster has been the most knowledgeable on this subject.

[Kiru]

Hi PolishEDview,

I second HalfFull in that you should have an attorney review the tank insurance policy as well as pre-2004 to 2006 homeowners insurance policies you may have had, if any, to see if you ever had coverage there. I see in another thread that you're considering switching to ProGuard for tank insurance, so I would take both companies' policies in and have the lawyer advise you as to which is better and what might happen if there is a problem. If you don't have access to a lawyer, make sure you question both companies extensively about what everything means and what they cover. I would even call multiple times to see if you detect any double talk.

In my experience, ProGuard will pay to excavate impacted soil to the water table (which could be 3 feet in some parts of the State) and they don't cover groundwater impacts, a big ticket item. The 3rd party their policy references may be if your neighbor's soil is impacted by your tank. That should all be spelled out in the policy. While I am not an insurance adjuster or attorney, if you'd like me to take a look at the policy, I will give you my thoughts.

As to removing the tank, it's very tricky. If all goes well and the tank is not leaking, then it's a good move since future buyers are sure to ask you remove it. If you wait until the house is on the market, you may lose the potential buyer due to the time it might take to remove the tank and/or cleanup a leak.

If the tank is leaking, then you will need money and time at hand to clean it up. Be as ready as you can for a large expense before removing it and make sure you have time as these things aren't always quick. The tank insurance will hopefully help to a degree and if you owned the home prior to 2004-2006-ish, your old homeowner's insurance policies may provide some contribution but don't count on it.

You mention oil monitoring that your tank insurer has done. If they're just basing it off your usage, that might not be enough to tell you for sure whether the tank is leaking. There can be pinholes in the tank that over years and years add up to a big problem; usage monitoring may not detect this type of issue.

It's a risky proposition but ultimately in order to sell the house you're most likely going to have to remove the tank. Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions!

[PolishEDview]

Thanks for both responses. I rather answer/talk here because others may benefit from posts in future and add up to subject as well, I hope its OK w/u.
I certainly try to get insurance policies from both (thanks for advice). So far ProGuard looks more professional - better designed and much more informational site, much better contact experience, better rated at BBB (1 complain each but answer only from PG) and opinion from my oil provider as to overall coverage. I am not that sure in such case if it is better or worst that it is much bigger company and offer variety of so to speak residential insurances.

My main concern is if I should take voluntary pull option or not (it has to be active for 12 months b4 decision t pull) since it is much more expensive but may cover expenses in case of any problems discovered while I switch to above-ground . I assume from your response that " the devil is in the details" which would be policy. I just hope for viewers having some experience with voluntary pull coverages from any insurer around the tri-state area and would like to share.

PS
I get back to you Kiru directly if able to pull(lol) detailed policy.

[PolishEDview]

Originally Posted by Kiru

Hi PolishEDview,

You mention oil monitoring that your tank insurer has done. If they're just basing it off your usage, that might not be enough to tell you for sure whether the tank is leaking. There can be pinholes in the tank that over years and years add up to a big problem; usage monitoring may not detect this type of issue.

It's a risky proposition but ultimately in order to sell the house you're most likely going to have to remove the tank. Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions!

Actually insurer presumably tested some stuff related to tank safety b4 accepted me few years ago and I was told "it" was going to be monitored ( I have had some white plastic "something" in the ground I was advised/warned not to remove, but maybe just for the time that data was collected...hmm...never checked if it was still there... ).

[PolishEDview]

Originally Posted by HalfFull

Be very very careful before taking any action. Read, and maybe have an attorney read, your policy in detail.

Do you think it would be better to just leave things like they are, hope for the best and act only when something comes up ( hopefully not oil itself)? I thought about it, and maybe it would be wiser not to touch anything as long as I am not forced to...
On the other hand I may save money on insurance with tank insurance(over 300 a year even w/o v.pull) and put it towards exchange cost refund every year, may have much less problems selling house since it would be easily accessible/see-able in basement and have city hall statement that ground is clean... not to mention peace of mind.

[HalfFull]

Originally Posted by PolishEDview

Thanks for both responses. I rather answer/talk here because others may benefit from posts in future and add up to subject as well, I hope its OK w/u.
I certainly try to get insurance policies from both (thanks for advice). So far ProGuard looks more professional - better designed and much more informational site, much better contact experience, better rated at BBB (1 complain each but answer only from PG) and opinion from my oil provider as to overall coverage. I am not that sure in such case if it is better or worst that it is much bigger company and offer variety of so to speak residential insurances.

My main concern is if I should take voluntary pull option or not (it has to be active for 12 months b4 decision t pull) since it is much more expensive but may cover expenses in case of any problems discovered while I switch to above-ground . I assume from your response that " the devil is in the details" which would be policy. I just hope for viewers having some experience with voluntary pull coverages from any insurer around the tri-state area and would like to share.

PS
I get back to you Kiru directly if able to pull(lol) detailed policy.

Here's the short version of my own experience of a voluntary removal.

We had pro guard and decided to remove our tank because we figured it would eventually be better for resale of the house.

Tank was pulled and there was leakage (more than pinholes... more like quarter-sized holes in the bottom.

Pro guard covered the replacement of contaminated dirt (and note that pro guard policy required that we replace our tank with another --above ground -- oil tank for at least 1 year; so if you're looking to switch to gas, this can be an issue)

But... our leak went down to the ground water, which was relatively high in our neighborhood. That issue was a "3rd party" contamination, and not covered by the pro guard policy. By the blessing of blind luck, our homeowners policy (from 1999) did provide for 3rd party coverage. As Kiru mentioned, this is rare now and was not uniform back then, so we were very fortunate, because that part of the clean-up cost well over $50K and would have been a considerable hardship for us.