Business ·
PHLY’s Online Tank Insurance Has Limits for Older Systems
The insurer’s new portal promises fast quotes for eligible accounts, while its published criteria direct older underground tanks to a separate submission process.
Philadelphia Insurance Companies introduced PHLY TankEAS on August 24, offering insurance agents and brokers an online route to quote, bind and issue admitted storage tank environmental policies. The company says eligible accounts can receive a quote in less than ten minutes, with policy documents supplied when coverage is bound. PHLY’s announcement
The limits on that convenience are set out in PHLY’s August 2026 brochure. Single-walled steel or fiberglass underground tanks aged 25 or older, and double-walled underground tanks aged 30 or older, are listed for surplus-lines coverage outside the online process. The same restriction applies to portfolios exceeding 100 tanks and individual tanks above 40,000 gallons. The brochure describes admitted availability across the country except Alaska, California, Kentucky and Louisiana. PHLY’s STEP brochure
Preparing the submission still requires more than an installation date. PHLY’s published proposal requirements call for a tank inventory identifying construction, capacity, contents, piping and monitoring, together with recent underground tank tightness tests and insurance loss records. Those documents give the underwriter a history of the system alongside its age. PHLY’s product requirements
The reason that coverage matters extends beyond the insurer’s paperwork. Federal rules require owners and operators of petroleum underground storage tanks to demonstrate resources for cleanup and for injury or property damage to others after an accidental release. EPA recognizes several mechanisms, including insurance, state funds, surety bonds and letters of credit. A policy used for this purpose has to provide the required protection. EPA’s financial-responsibility guidance
In guidance issued in 2021, EPA acknowledged reports of difficulty obtaining insurance for systems around 30 years old and older. Some insurers continued to cover those systems, sometimes with larger deductibles. The agency also identified inspection, testing and release-detection records as useful evidence in an insurance application. The age limits in PHLY’s brochure set the terms for that company’s program; EPA’s guidance describes options for older systems that depend on an insurer’s assessment.