Our oil tank was recently removed properly, cleanly, and professionally by a local company that does this work. We had Proguard coverage insuring us against spills or inadvertant releases either while still in the ground or at the time of the release.
We did read our contract and all the fine print associated with the removal of the tank, including the $500 fee for voluntary tank removal. But what was so incredibly disrespectful to us and every homeowner that will be charged this fee in the future, was the minimal amount of work associated with the fee.
When this was brought up to the Claims Rep at Powderhorn, we were told that the fee would have been applied to a deductible of $2000 had there been a release of oil, as if this somehow justified the exorbitant fee.
The on-site rep was here for less than half an hour, watched the 10 minute tank removal procedure, took a few pictures with a pocket digital camera, took no soil samples, asked me 3 or 4 basic questions about the house and left. The gentleman was very respectful and professional, and these comments are not about him at all, only the time spent vs. The fee for the work to his company.
When I questioned the fee with the Claims Rep at Powderhorn assigned to this program, I was told the fee was put out to bid by third-party inspectors. Given that the agency is supposed to represent us as consumers/homeowners and is apparently one of the few insurers in the country that does this, one would think they would wield some power in exacting a "reasonable" fee for this tank removal fee. $500 for less than a half-hour's work is incredibly unreasonable.
The assumption by the homeowner/us when we read the contract was that there would be some incredible time or sophisticated soil sampling associated with the fee (which by the way was more than the cost of one year's insurance coverage on the tank).
The last thing that I found very disrespectful was the clearly irritated claims rep I spoke to, who had no good answer about this excessive fee, and treated me as someone he would just like to go away. When I asked him if our conversation would be communicated to someone in a supervisory or ownership capacity, he reluctantly said yes, but it was clear to me that he had no intention of doing that. Hence this report to all wary consumers out there! Look elsewhere for oil tank insurance!
0 comments