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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