Black market business in heating oil puts homeowners at risk

As criminals target the estimated £1.56 billion UK domestic oil market following rising oil prices and reduced consumer purchasing power, homeowners who use oil to heat their homes should be extra vigilant over the coming months according to Abbey Home Insurance.

Police forces across the UK have reported a rise in the number of heating fuel thefts from homes, believing that criminals around the country target domestic fuel tanks as a source of oil.

The average cost of heating for a three-bedroom house is around £1044 per year and as many as one in four of the 1.5 million homes in the UK that use oil heating may have no insurance should their homes be targeted as part of this crime wave.

Worse still, many homeowners who have insurance may find they do not have adequate cover. Analysis of market data by Abbey Insurance shows that of the home insurance policies on the market, as many as one in ten (10 per cent) do not cover the home for stolen oil and of those that do, over half (53 per cent) cover you for less than the cost of filling an average domestic oil tank for a year. Indeed only two per cent (six policies) offer unlimited cover on stolen oil.

Thierry Campet, Head of Sales and Marketing, Abbey Insurance commented: "As most tanks are kept outside of the home they can pose easy targets to thieves. Average oil prices have doubled since the start of the year and rising inflation has meant that many people can no longer afford the premium prices. This has helped the growth of a black market economy in domestic oil fuel."

"There are security precautions that can be taken to help prevent this type of crime, but it is imperative that homeowners not only pre-emptively protect their fuel, but also have adequate insurance so that they do not find themselves footing the bill if the oil does get stolen".

"At this stage, most insurance policies do not cover the cost of oil required to heat your home for a year. If oil costs continue to rise, this situation is not going to get better. Having an insurance product, such as Abbey's ‘Peace of Mind' insurance, that has an unlimited limit to the cost of oil you can claim for is a definite advantage in the current economic climate".