Insurance Insights: The Cleary Insurance Blog
The Cleary Insurance blog covers insurance, risk management, and financial planning for New England businesses and individuals. Our team of licensed advisors and specialists publishes regular articles on commercial and personal coverage, employee benefits, life and financial planning, and insurance compliance. Browse recent articles below, or use the category filters to find topics relevant to your business or personal situation.
Oil Heat? Review Your Coverage
About one in four Massachusetts households relies on petroleum products for home heating. Yet many homeowners may be surprised to learn that their standard homeowners insurance policy does not automatically cover the potentially significant costs associated with a heating oil leak.
Heating oil can escape from a tank, fuel line, or other part of the heating system and spread beneath a home’s foundation, into surrounding soil or groundwater, or even onto neighboring property. Because these losses may fall under pollution-related exclusions, a standard homeowners policy may provide little or no coverage for the resulting cleanup.
Massachusetts Homeowners Have an Option
Massachusetts law requires homeowners insurers to make special heating oil release coverage available to qualifying residential property owners.
The coverage available under Massachusetts law includes at least:
- $50,000 in first-party property coverage for costs associated with assessing and cleaning up a heating oil release on your property, including certain associated personal property damage.
- $200,000 in third-party liability coverage if a release affects groundwater or another person’s property.
- Legal defense coverage for covered third-party claims.
- A deductible of no more than $1,000 per claim.
The important catch? You generally need to request and purchase this coverage before a loss occurs.
According to the Massachusetts Division of Insurance, approximately 110,925 policies with statutory-level liquid-fuel coverage were in force at the end of 2024 among the state’s top 25 homeowners insurers and the FAIR Plan. With so many Massachusetts households relying on oil for heat, many homeowners may remain uninsured for this exposure.
Is Your Heating System Eligible?
To obtain this coverage, homeowners may need to show that their heating system meets Massachusetts oil-leak prevention requirements.
For many systems, fuel lines that come into contact with a floor, concrete or earth must have additional protection. This may include a protective sleeve around the fuel line, an oil safety valve at the tank, or another approved leak-prevention method. Some systems are exempt or may already comply.
A licensed oil burner technician can inspect your system and provide the necessary certification.
One Important Question to Ask
If you heat your Massachusetts home with oil, ask your insurance advisor:
“Do I have heating oil release coverage?”
Don’t assume the answer is yes simply because you have homeowners insurance. An oil release can lead to costly cleanup, particularly if oil reaches groundwater or neighboring property.
At Cleary Insurance, we can review your homeowners policy, determine whether you already have this important protection and explain your options if you don’t.
A few minutes of review today could help prevent a very expensive surprise tomorrow.
Cleary Insurance — Life is worth the risk.
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Open Enrollment: 5 Things to Check Before You Re-Enroll
Open enrollment is your one chance each year to make changes to your benefits. Outside of a qualifying life event, the choices you make now will stay with you for the next twelve months. It’s tempting to let last year’s elections roll over, but a quick review can save you money and avoid surprises. Here are five things to check before the deadline.
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Has your life changed this year?
Marriage, divorce, a new baby, a child turning 26, a spouse gaining or losing coverage — any of these can change which plan and coverage level makes the most sense. Make sure everyone who should be covered is enrolled, and that no one is covered twice.
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Does your plan still match how you use care?
Look back at the past year. If you rarely saw a doctor, a lower-premium plan with a higher deductible might save you money. If you had ongoing care, frequent prescriptions, or a planned procedure coming up, a plan with lower out-of-pocket costs may be the better value. Compare the total cost, which means premiums plus what you’d realistically spend on care, not just the paycheck deduction.
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Are your doctors and prescriptions still covered?
Provider networks and drug lists can change from year to year. Before you enroll, confirm that your primary care doctor, any specialists, and your preferred hospital are in-network. Also check that your regular medications are still on the plan’s formulary and at what cost tier.
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Are you making the most of your FSA or HSA?
These accounts let you pay for eligible healthcare expenses with pre-tax dollars. Think about your expected expenses for next year, such as copays, prescriptions, glasses, and dental work, and set your contribution accordingly. If you have an FSA, check your current balance too. Many FSA plans require funds to be used by the end of the plan year or they’re forfeited, so check your plan’s deadline and any grace period or carryover rules, and schedule appointments or stock up on eligible items before time runs out.
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Are your beneficiaries up to date?
This one is easy to overlook. Review the beneficiaries on your life insurance and any other benefits that ask for one. Life changes like marriage, divorce, or the birth of a child are good reminders to make sure the right people are named.
Don’t miss your deadline
Open enrollment periods vary by employer, so check with your HR department for your enrollment dates and any materials about next year’s plans. A few minutes of review now can make a real difference in your coverage and costs all year long.
401(k) Investment Options: What Are You Getting?
Presented by:
Matthew Clayson
Almost 70 million Americans contribute to a 401(k) plan, and millions more contribute to similar workplace plans, such as a 403(b), 457(b), or federal Thrift Savings Plan. Together, these plans held an estimated $14.2 trillion in assets at the end of 2025.1
Contributing to a 401(k) can be a big step toward a more comfortable retirement. But it’s important to understand what you are getting for your money.
Filling the envelope
A 401(k) is not an investment in itself. It is more like an envelope that holds investments under tax-advantaged rules. These plans usually offer a variety of funds as investment options, typically including domestic stock funds, international stock funds, domestic bond funds, and target-date funds — the most common investment, held by seven out of 10 401(k) participants.2
A simple approach
Target-date funds are often the default option in workplace plans, so you may have one without fully understanding what it is. These are “all-in-one” funds intended to be your only investment. They generally hold a mix of other funds containing stocks, bonds, and cash alternatives, selected for a time horizon — the target date — when an investor expects to retire or need access to the money. As the target date approaches, the fund typically shifts toward a more conservative asset allocation to help preserve the value it may have accumulated and potentially provide income.
These funds offer a simple approach to investing, but the allocation is based solely on the target date and does not take into account the investor’s risk tolerance, personal goals, asset levels, sources of income, or any other factors that make an investor unique.
The principal value of a target-date fund is not guaranteed before, on, or after the target date. The return and principal value of these funds fluctuates with changes in market conditions. Shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost.
Choosing your own investments
The average 401(k) offers almost 30 different funds, so investors who want a more customized approach can spread their investments across a variety of funds.3. With this approach, you can create your own asset allocation and diversification strategy by directing your contributions to the funds you choose in the percentages you choose.
If you take this approach, it’s important to understand each fund’s goals and underlying holdings. You may want to check your portfolio’s allocation periodically to see whether it stays close to your target allocation. If you want to adjust your allocation, you could rebalance by buying and selling shares as appropriate and/or by changing the percentages of future contributions. Rebalancing in a 401(k) typically does not create tax consequences.
Company stock
Some 401(k) plans also offer company stock as an investment option. This could be worth considering if you believe in your company’s future prospects. But it’s important to keep any company stock investments in perspective. Becoming overinvested in a single stock, whether it’s your company or not, can throw off your strategy and expose you to additional risk.
Whatever investments you choose, know what you are buying and why they’re appropriate for your situation. If you invest outside of the workplace, it’s also important that your 401(k) investments be balanced with your other investments.
Asset allocation and diversification do not guarantee a profit or protect against investment loss. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal, and no investment strategy is guaranteed to succeed. Investing internationally carries additional risks such as differences in financial reporting, currency exchange risk, as well as economic and political risk unique to the specific country. This may result in greater share price volatility. Bond funds are subject to the same inflation, interest rate, and credit risks associated with their underlying bonds. As interest rates rise, bond prices typically fall, which can adversely affect a bond fund’s performance.
Funds are sold by prospectus. Please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing. The prospectus, which contains this and other information about the investment company, can be obtained from your financial professional.
1–3) Investment Company Institute, 2026
This content has been reviewed by FINRA.
Prepared by Broadridge Advisor Solutions. © 2026 Broadridge Financial Services, Inc.