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Action Alert: Urge Your State Senator to Support LSPA’s Home Heating Oil Insurance Bill

by: Kristi F Lefebvre
Category: News
Tags
Mar
02
Earlier this month the LSPA's bill S. 676, which would mandate that insurance companies provide first- and third-party coverage for home heating oil releases, was favorably reported out of the Massachusetts legislature’s Joint Committee on Financial Services. This was great news. The bill is next being considered by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, chaired by Senator Michael Rodrigues.   
 
It would be a significant achievement if the bill is reported favorably by this committee. The LSPA is asking you to please consider writing to your state senator to urge their support of the bill. The more requests from constituents, the more visibility our bill gets. Regardless of whether or not your state senator is a member the Senate Committee on Ways and Means NOW is the time to get their attention. 
 
Check here to find your state senator. 
 
Attached here is a sample email you can send. All senators’ email addresses are on their home page. No need to send paper mail.
 
If you have experience with a home heating oil release, especially one in which the homeowner did not have insurance or had a tough time getting coverage, please feel free to share this in your letter. Real life examples are most compelling, especially if your client’s property is in the district of one of these senators.  
 
For more information about the bill, please read the recent Boston Globe editorial supporting the legislation, as well as the LSPA’s letter (written before the bill was passed by the Joint Committee on Financial Services)and fact sheet. In addition, our bill has benefitted from a supporting letter from six state environmental organizations. We encourage you to mention in your letter if you are a member of any of these organizations. 
 
Please contact our Executive Director Wendy Rundle at [email protected] if you have any questions. 
 
Thank you for your support; we will keep LSPA members apprised.
 
 
LSPA Legislative Committee Co-Chairs
Spence Smith, LSP, Jacobs
Tim Clinton, LSP, Fuss & O’Neill


Boston Globe Endorses LSPA's Legislation

by: Kristi F Lefebvre
Category: News
Tags
Feb
28
After a flurry of media attention kicked off by this article, the Boston Globe published an editorial on February 26, 2022 in support of the LSPA's bill Senate #676, An Act relative to the remediation of home heating oil releases.  Many thanks to the Globe for pointing out that the bill "would secure the protection Massachusetts homeowners deserve — requiring insurers to provide oil leak coverage."  And the editorial closed with a message for legislators:  "Catastrophic expenses can be, well, catastrophic. And if lawmakers can easily prevent them, they should."  The bill is now being considered by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.

More News Stories about Local Family Dealing with Fuel Oil Spill

by: Kristi F Lefebvre
Category: News
Tags
Feb
22

Here are two more news stories about the Wareham family dealing with a fuel oil spill: 

Any homeowner in Massachusetts who has faced this situation, without insurance coverage, knows how challenging it is. Hopefully this media coverage is raising awareness and more homeowners will buy fuel oil insurance riders. We hope that state legislators will also be motivated to pass Senate Bill No. 676, An Act relative to the remediation of home heating oil releases, which would require that all Massachusetts homeowner insurance policies provide coverage for the cleanup of accidental releases of home heating oil. Please contact your state senator and representative to ask for their support.  

LSPA Testimony on S. 676 Home Heating Oil Insurance

by: Kristi F Lefebvre
Category: News
Tags
Nov
02
Led by Susan Crane (Attorney) and Kevin Beaulieu (LSP), the LSPA assembled a team to testify before the MA Legislature’s Joint Committee on Financial Services on October 20, 2021, in support of Senate Bill 676, An Act relative to the remediation of home heating oil releases.  Three homeowners recently impacted by spills, and shocked to learn the releases were not covered by their homeowners insurance, shared their unfortunate experiences.  An insurance industry spokesperson was the only person to testify against the bill. 

The LSPA was pleased that legislators had many follow-up questions that (we thought) showed their interest in pushing insurance companies to take a more active interest in addressing this issue.

To view the relevant portion of the hearing, click here – LSPA testimony begins at 16:25 and runs until 41.20. The testimony of the MA Insurance Federation representative on S. 676 runs from 42:25 to 45:40.  Q&A from legislators runs from 52:10 to 58:30.

The LSPA will continue to monitor progress on the bill, and pursue options for more visibility on the issue.


Legislative Update: LSPA’s Home Heating Oil Insurance Bill

by: Kristi F Lefebvre
Category: News
Tags
Sep
23

NBC Boston ran this story on September 22, 2021 to again highlight the devastating and costly impacts of residential heating oil spills, especially for those without insurance coverage.  The LSPA continues to work with Senator Anne M. Gobi to pass S. 676, our bill that would require insurance companies to provide coverage for the approximately 700,000 homeowners who do not have it.  For two sessions, this bill has received a favorable report from the legislature's Joint Committee on Financial Services.  

For more information about the LSPA's bill, please read our fact sheet and this additional information which includes TV news coverage.

Ask Your Legislators to Co-Sponsor the LSPA’s Bill

by: Kristi F Lefebvre
Category: News
Tags
May
12
The LSPA continues to work with Senator Anne M. Gobi (D-Spencer) to pass S. 676, our bill that would require insurance companies to provide coverage for residential heating oil spills. At the start of this new legislative session, we are asking LSPA members to write to their state senators and representatives to urge them to sign on as bill co-sponsors before June 1, 2021. The more sponsors of the bill - the better.   

A simple email to your senator and/or representative is all it takes. Enter your home address here to find your legislators.  Here is suggested text for an email.                                             

For more information about the LSPA's bill, please read our fact sheet and this additional information.