Senate plan mandates coverage for heating oil spills

BOSTON — Homeowners would be required to get property insurance coverage to protect against home heating oil contamination under a new proposal that its backers say is aimed at shielding them from costly cleanups for spills.

The measure, which unanimously passed the state Senate on Thursday, would require insurers to add coverage for accidental home heating oil spills.

Since 2010, Massachusetts law has required commercial property insurers offer coverage for leaks from oil heat systems and mandates that homeowners install leak-prevention systems, such as a safety valve or a supply line protective sleeve.

But the bill's primary sponsor, state Sen. Anne Gobi, D-Spencer, says only about 7% of the nearly 700,000 homes in the state that use use heating oil have the coverage for accidental spills.

She said the lack of coverage leaves them exposed to the cost of cleaning up contamination from spills, which can run hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"Current law requires insurers to make [the coverage] available, but they don't have to talk about it," Gobi said in remarks Thursday. "It's a problem."

Gobi claimed that getting the basic coverage won't cost much – roughly $75 per $100,000 of coverage by adding a rider to their current insurance policy.

She said that cost would likely drop even further if hundreds of thousands of homeowners are eventually covered under the proposed changes.

"The cost of remediation is expensive and can force residents to seek risky financial maneuvers," Gobi said. "It is only fair that the state take actions to protect its citizens from this danger."

Gobi said the proposal includes exemptions for insurers to deny coverages if it is determined that homeowners didn't follow state rules for oil heating systems.

The measure passed with bipartisan support, and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, called the changes "long overdue" during the Senate session Thursday when Democratic lawmakers also pushed through a sweeping new climate change bill that drew GOP opposition.

Massachusetts is the third-largest consumer of home heating oil in the nation, using an estimated 850 million gallons a year, according to industry figures.

Hundreds of leaks from home residential heating oil systems are reported every year, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Cleaning up a "simple" spill can cost homeowners up to $15,000, but contamination of soil and water wells can cost $250,000 or more, the agency said.

MassDEP maintains a database of contamination cleanups that details hundreds of residential home heating oil spills dating back several years.