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.
Is Your Business Covered for an Oil Leak?
As temperatures drop across Massachusetts, many businesses and commercial properties will once again rely on oil heat. While heating oil is common throughout New England, a leaking tank or supply line can cause more than just a loss of heat.
Under Massachusetts environmental laws, property owners can be responsible for addressing oil releases that contaminate their property, soil, groundwater, or neighboring properties. Certain releases must also be reported to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).
Would Your Insurance Respond?
This is where reviewing your commercial insurance becomes important. Standard Commercial Property and General Liability policies may contain pollution exclusions or limitations, meaning the cost to investigate and clean up an oil release may not be covered as you expect.
Depending on the business, property, and insurance carrier, additional Pollution or Environmental Liability coverage may be available to help address exposures such as:
- Cleanup and remediation expenses
- Soil or groundwater contamination
- Damage to neighboring properties
- Third-party bodily injury or property damage claims
- Certain environmental investigation and legal expenses
MassDEP notes that heating-oil releases can migrate through the ground, affect groundwater, and spread to neighboring properties—turning what begins as a relatively small leak into a significant environmental issue.
Prevention Matters Too
Massachusetts businesses using oil heat should periodically inspect tanks, piping, and supply lines for corrosion, deterioration, or signs of leakage. Businesses with underground tanks or larger petroleum storage exposures may also be subject to additional state requirements.
Do you have oil heat at your business or commercial property? Contact our Commercial Lines team. We can review your current insurance program, identify potential coverage gaps, and discuss whether you should consider additional pollution or environmental coverage.
Are Your Volunteers Protected? What Every Nonprofit Should Know
Presented by Sarah Goyette
Volunteers are the heart of many nonprofit organizations, but one important coverage gap is often overlooked.
In most cases, volunteers are not considered employees and are therefore not covered under a Workers’ Compensation policy. If a volunteer is injured while helping your organization, they may have limited options for covering medical expenses unless other protections are in place.
To help reduce your organization’s exposure, nonprofits should consider:
- Using volunteer waivers or liability releases. While a waiver cannot prevent every claim, it can help demonstrate that volunteers understand the risks associated with their activities.
- Reviewing Volunteer Accident & Health coverage. This optional policy may provide benefits for volunteers injured while performing authorized duties for your organization.
It’s important to understand that Volunteer Accident & Health coverage is generally supplemental. This means a volunteer’s own health insurance is typically the primary source of coverage, and the accident policy may help pay eligible expenses that remain after the health insurance has responded, subject to the policy’s terms and limits.
Every nonprofit is unique, and volunteer exposures can vary significantly depending on the organization’s activities. Taking a few moments to review your volunteer management procedures and insurance program can help protect both your volunteers and your organization.
If your organization relies on volunteers, we’d be happy to review your current coverage and discuss whether additional protection may be appropriate.
Keep Your Summer Fun Worry Free
Summer is the season for vacations, backyard barbecues, pool parties, and weekends on the water. While you’re busy making memories, it’s also the perfect time to ensure your insurance coverage keeps pace with your summer activities. A quick policy review today can help prevent unexpected expenses tomorrow.
- Make Sure Your Home Is Ready for Summer Guests
If you have a swimming pool, trampoline, fire pit, or regularly host family and friends, it’s worth reviewing your homeowners liability coverage. Accidents can happen, and if someone is injured on your property, you could be responsible for medical expenses or legal costs.
Take a few minutes to review your liability limits with your insurance advisor. If you want additional peace of mind, a Personal Umbrella Policy can provide an extra layer of protection beyond your home and auto insurance.
- Protect Your Summer Toys and Travel Plans
Boats, motorcycles, RVs, campers, ATVs, and Jet Skis all come out during the summer months. Before heading out, confirm that each vehicle has the right coverage for how you use it.
Planning to rent a car while traveling? Check with your insurance agent before your trip to see whether your personal auto policy covers rental vehicles or whether purchasing the rental company’s collision damage coverage makes sense for your situation.
- Review Your Renewals and Look for Savings
Summer is a common time for home and auto policy renewals. With continued changes in the insurance market, your premiums or coverage may have changed since your last renewal.
Instead of simply renewing your policy, take the opportunity to:
- Review your coverage limits and deductibles.
- Make sure you’re receiving every available discount.
- Ask about bundling your home and auto policies.
- Consider smart-home devices, such as water leak detectors or monitored fire alarms, that may qualify for additional savings.
Enjoy Summer with Confidence
Whether you’re planning a family vacation, spending weekends at the lake, or hosting friends for a cookout, a quick insurance review can help ensure you’re protected before the unexpected happens.
If you have questions about your current coverage, the team at Cleary Insurance is here to help. Contact us today for a complimentary policy review so you can enjoy a safe, fun, and worry-free summer.