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home insurance with buried propane tank?

3 years ago

Has anybody had any issues getting homeowners insurance with a buried propane tank?

We are currently building here in north Florida and we’re hoping to bury the tank for a number of reasons. In discussions with our local insurance company, it appears, according to them, that many carriers do not cover this. The stated reason is “potential contamination of soil”.

I’m new to propane, but that doesn’t seem right based on my reading. What has been everyone else’s experience? I’m told our only option they could find was insurance through Nationwide for which I’m currently waiting for the quote.

Thanks a lot.

Featured Answer

mikeflorida
Original Author

2 years ago

Just to close the loop here:

I ended up calling Progressive myself and found out that they do in fact cover propane tanks without an issue. When I mentioned this to our local insurance company they continued to insist that this wasn't true. We decided to go through another insurance company here and were able to get several quotes without a problem. I'm convinced the original people we were working with could not understand the difference between a propane tank and a "fuel" tank.

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Comments (13)

rdy2retire
3 years ago
Here in Maine - buried 500 gal propane tank. No insurance issues. USAA is carrier.
rrah
3 years ago
Midwest-buried 500 gal propane tank. No insurance issues with various companies.
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The rules in our subdivision require that a tank over a certain size (maybe 20 gallons) be buried. Our is over 300 gallons and it is buried. It was no big deal. Excavated the hole when digging the foundation. Poured a concrete pad and inserted bolts. Propane company dropped tank (with sacrificial anodes) into place and chained it down. Hole was backfilled with sand when the house was backfilled. The line runs underground (with safety tape over it so it doesn't get dug up) and there is a very small metal box where the line comes out of the ground and it connect to the back of the house. It's no big deal, a small shrub would completely hide it. The propane company owns the tank (so they say, I never signed anything) and they don't charge for it, but I am only supposed to use them for fills (it's only been filled once in two years). Our utilities are underground and our phone and power meters are on the side of the garage, not highly visible. The transformer is in the woods. The meters and boxes on the house are not bad looking at all. A small metal box for phone and cable, a meter mounted on another metal box with the shutoff for the electrical. They are barely noticeable, but we carely planned where they would go.
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Too late- we're committed! Hopefully, the house is sufficiently energy efficient that it won't be a big deal. Third gas company was a no show and the fourth was hilarious. He quoted $4,500 for the tank and when I told him he was at least $1,000 higher than his competitors he suddenly discovered a "typo" on his price list and reduced it to $3,100. I asked what brand of tank it was and I was told that it's "proprietary" to which I responded- Well if we're buying a tank, THEN do we get to find out? He very seriously told me at that point I'd be able to read the manufacturer off the side of the tank. These people crack me up. One more quote on Monday and I am putting this issue to bed. Someone today actually quoted $1.61/ gal which sounds pretty darn good to me! Thanks for all the feedback- keep it coming, please!
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The typical above-ground propane tank that I see installed at residences is 250 gallons. If you're going buried then you may have more flexibility on size. I would recommend you check out a heat pump though, they are quite efficient in central Texas and you won't have to deal with getting someone to come out and refill a tank. Plus I suspect that propane and natural gas will continue their price climb with oil prices, but electricity prices will hopefully moderate as our country moves towards alternative sources for electrical generation (solar, wind, geothermal, etc.)
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Hi, is the cost of operation an issue? So let's rule out electric tankless from the beginning. It doesn't achieve anything that you want, and adds a lot of cost to the electrical side of things. Your generator would not be able to provide power for electric tankless . Options are: -Standard Electric Resistance Tank -Hybrid Electric Tank (very low operating costs, but needs air from garage, basement, etc from which to pull heat). -Standard propane tank -Propane Tankless (less operating costs than above) A 200k BTU unit at those water temps will provide all the water you need. -Hybrid tankless w/tank (low operating costs compared to standard propane tank, but high volume) I would go with Electric hybrid and avoid propane. Propane has had some crazy cost volatility. Something to consider on your new build is grid tie Solar PV (electric) with battery backup. This might be in the ballpark cost wise if you were otherwise considering a generator and propane install. Grid-tie solar would provide some percentage of your electric power that your home needs and feeding any excess back into the power company. The battery backup would provide you with emergency power. You are in a good part of the country for Solar and since it's a new build, you can do it right
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Longbranchstitch
3 years ago
PNW here, 1000 gallon buried propane tank. No issues with insurance company.
vinmarks
3 years ago
500 gallon buried propane tank in NC. No issues with insurance. .
Louise Smith
3 years ago
Not exactly on point, but I had a 500 oil tank underground. We had it dug up, the soil tested (totally clean), and a 275 oil tank installed in basement a few years ago. When I went to sell the house, the real estate agent let out a big sigh when I told him I had the buried tank removed and the space filled in. Buyers didn't want the potential of contamination. I suppled all the documentation they needed. I don't know if it would have been a problem, but I would never do an underground tank, although I loved the 500 gallons. Fewer fill ups.
JJ
3 years ago
Maybe when the water rises it will pop out of the ground and explode?

Burried tank here (PNW) no issues with ins.
mikeflorida
Original Author
3 years ago
I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences. This kind of validates what I thought. Perhaps my situation is a regional thing or just a miscommunication. Looks like I will have to make some phone calls myself. I am in the central portion of the state where the water table is not particularly high comparatively. So I’m not sure if that’s a factor.

For those of you that have commented already, who are your home insurance carriers?
PRO
BobH
3 years ago
Oil and gasoline leaks from buried tanks will contaminate the ground and eventually the ground water. Propane evaporates quickly and does not threaten the ground water. Ive never heard of any insurance problems with buried propane tanks. It certainly is a problem with buried oil tanks. Make sure you tell the insurance company it is a propane tank and not a liquid petroleum tank- they might get confused by the term “liquid petroleum”.
mikeflorida
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks. I initially suspected that’s where the confusion was arising and mentioned that same point. I suspect I may get different information when I call the insurance companies myself.
Phyllis Wolfe
last year
had a propane tank 500 lb buried the earth around the top near the cover seem to be sinking like 10 inches down all the way around should i call them back is this normal
millworkman
last year
@Phyllis Wolfe I would call them back for certain. They did not fill the hole properly.
vinmarks
last year
@Phyllis Wolfe Yes call them. That is not right. We've had a tank buried for almost 5 years now and there is no sinking dirt.

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