Review of ProGuard Insurance!
What Is ProGuard Insurance?
ProGuard tank protection is insurance protecting active oil tanks on properties through their oil provider. It covers aboveground and underground tanks. A lot of homeowners using oil heat count on ProGuard for their oil tank insurance. If your client or yourself has ProGuard and they are wanting to sell their home, there are a few things you should be made aware of first. They may want to take the tank out and convert to gas, making it more appealing to buyers. You may advise them to go ahead and remove the oil tank, but that would not be the best option.
Do Not Put In The Gas Line
If you or your client gives the go-ahead to put in the gas line before pulling the tank out, they will have voided their contract with ProGuard. All the money that has gone into the insurance will be voided. You will want your client to thoroughly read through their contract before making the switch over to gas.
Call ProGuard
If you have any questions regarding your contract or need a clearer picture of what needs to be done, call ProGuard and talk to a representative. You will need to tell them that you want to do a ‘voluntary pull’ and what needs to happen to be able to have that done within the contract terms because you want to sell the property or convert to gas. ProGuard will go through the process with you. The last thing you want to do is accidentally void your contract and lose your money invested.
Should I Switch To Gas?
You or your client will have to have a company come in that can conduct soil testing with a guarantee. Without the guarantee, you risk paying more expenses. Simple Tank can come to the home and examine whether or not there is contamination. Your client or you, as the homeowner, need to decide then if you really want gas. Simple Tank will be able to tell you if the tank is leaking and what the price will be. It may not be worth it for you or the homeowner to invest in switching to gas. If you still want to be covered under your insurance with ProGuard, you have to stick with oil for twelve months with a leaking tank. They will deliver an aboveground tank and deliver new oil.
However, if you are facing only a minor cleanup due to the leakage, it might be worth it to just have Simple Tank pull the tank. Simple Tank will be able to assess the damage and give you a guarantee on price. Smaller cleanups are going to be less expensive. Then, you would be able to convert to gas and sell the property.
It is important that you or the homeowner understands the ramifications of pulling out a leaking tank under contract with ProGuard. If you want to know the extent of the damage and how much soil contamination there is, Simple Tank will be able to provide that with you before you make your decision.
The owners of Simple Tank Services have been pulling oil tanks for a combined 75+ years! With all this experience, they have seen every scenario play out when it comes to the ProGuard warranty program. In the blog post we will cover the top 6 problems with their coverage program. We’ll go over whether it’s really the top oil tank insurance NJ has to offer.
1 – Confusing – We believe that the program is very confusing to understand. They have different programs and costs depending on if you “think” you may want to remove your tank at some point or if you don’t. They call this voluntary and involuntary pull program. If you decide you want to remove your tank with knowledge that their is a leak, this is considered a voluntary pull. You must be on their voluntary pull program for at least one year.
2 – High Deductible – If you decide to pull your oil tank voluntarily and there is a claim, your deductible will be $3,500.00 plus $500 oversight fee. The oversight fee covers for them to send a representative to your site the day the tank is removed.
3 – Stuck with Oil – If you have a claim, you are forced to install a new above ground tank so that the fuel dealer can deliver oil to you for a minimum of 12 months. After this period you can convert to gas if you want to. DO NOT CONVERT TO GAS BEFORE PULLING YOUR TANK. This will VOID your warranty!
4 – Auto Delivery – You are forced to stick with the oil provider that sold you the policy and you MUST stay on automatic delivery. This means you can’t price shop for the lowest possible oil price. If the dealer decides to raise their prices, you are stuck paying that amount.
5 – No Third Party – If there is a claim and the oil is impacting third party (ground water and off site soil) you are not covered. If you have owned your property at least 12 years and have had the same insurance policy, you may be covered through your homeowner’s insurance.
6 – Yearly Payment – They only give you one option to pay and that is one payment for the year. They do no offer monthly payments.
If you are interested in getting coverage for your active underground heating oil tank, please contact us about Simple Guard! Our warranty program is the answer to all the problems with ProGuard!
