Your oil furnace could be a $1 million catastrophe waiting to happen

Around 5.5 million homes in the U.S. are still heating their homes with oil, the government says. All three of those victims were from Massachusetts, but oil furnaces remain common throughout the chilly Northeast.

Since this heating style is being phased out, many oil tanks are old and prone to leaks. Those leaks can cost up to $1 million to clean up — and worst of all, if you didn’t seek out the right home insurance coverage, that will all come out of your pocket.

Leaks are more common than you’d think

These oil tank failures are not freak accidents.

State records show an average of 120 heating oil spills per year in Massachusetts alone, according to NBC10 Boston, which has been reporting on the issue for some time.

There’s a reason heating oil furnaces are falling out of style. When the tanks do leak, the oil can contaminate not just your property but your neighbors’ properties, too. In the worst-case scenario, the oil can poison a nearby body of water or underground water system.

Cleanup bills can stretch well into the thousands, if not hundreds of thousands.

When a leak happens, you can end up responsible for expenses like:

• Repairing your basement and other areas of your home.
• Excavating contaminated soil under your property.
• Replacing your damaged possessions.
• Cleanup of any neighboring property and waterways.
• Replacement of the furnace itself.
• Plus any legal fees you might incur.

Homeowners are rarely protected

Unfortunately, there are two reasons why an otherwise great home insurance policy won’t cover these spills.

First, these spills are not typically caused by unexpected events that are out of your control, like a natural disaster or fire.