Oil Tank Removal: Worksafe BC Are You Covered… If Your Oil Tank Removal Company is Not?

With so much information on the internet, many people may get overwhelmed while searching for an oil tank removal company.

Since the oil tank removal industry may not be as common as some other trades, some people find it hard to even figure out what questions to ask.

Usually it doesn’t even cross someones mind to check if an oil tank removal company has proper and valid coverage.

Most people tend to assume that if a company is working they must be covered…  this unfortunately is not always true.

So you have decided to remove your oil tank…  

Maybe you’ve…

decided to sell your home and got a referral for an oil tank removal company from a friend, neighbour or realtor, but you still want to do a little more research on your own before committing to an oil tank removal company.

Maybe you’ve…

known that you had an oil tank for a while and have decided that its is time to remove it.

Maybe you’ve…

found an unfortunate surprise during a renovation and need to get your oil tank removed quickly.

Now that you decided to remove the oil tank on your property, you start researching the oil tank removal industry and find an overwhelming amount of information.

The information varies from source to source and is not always consistent.

Additionally, most of the articles you find are involving horror stories of contaminated properties… now its starting to get stressful.
You try your best to find some reputable contractors and you’ve narrowed it down to two oil tank removal companies. 

Both oil tank removal companies responded quickly, and sounded like they knew what they were talking about.

It also helped that they had a couple great reviews and testimonials online.

You have confirmed with both oil tank removal companies that they have no hidden costs and both companies told you that they have insurance coverage.

You also noticed that both oil tank removal companies were accredited members with the Better Business Bureau, so you choose the contractor that you are most comfortable with.

The First Day of Your Oil Tank Removal

It is the first day of your oil tank removal and all is going well.

The oil tank removal company shows up on time, the excavator is on site and they are ready to begin.

You greet them in the morning, ask them to give you an update at the end of the day, and then head off to work.

Later in the afternoon, you get a call from the oil tank removal company and they explain that the oil tank could not be removed today because an employee got injured on your property during the excavation.

Obviously, you are concerned for the well-being of the employee, express your understanding and hope that everyone is ok.

The oil tank is removed the next day, the soil samples are taken and there were no signs of soil contamination. Yaay

While you await the soil sample results, you receive a call from Worksafe BC.

They ask if you know about the injured employee and whether you knew that your contractor had no valid coverage.  

They also ask if YOU applied for coverage on your property?

Worksafe BC then ends the conversation by saying that the incident is under investigation and they will follow up with you when they have more information.

You thought you did all the right things:

• You researched the oil tank removal industry
• You got a referral from a friend
• You asked the company if they had insurance
• You saw that they were an accredited member of the BBB

Many homeowners do not account for a workplace injuries when hiring a contractor and assume that if there is an incident, they will be not be held responsible.

When most people hear that a company has “insurance”, many people may assume that having “insurance” means that as a homeowner they are protected.

However, General Liability insurance is quite different from Worksafe BC coverage and it is paramount that your oil tank removal company has the appropriate and valid coverage.

In the end, the call back you receive from Worksafe BC may just be a standard follow-up.

On the other hand, there is also a chance that you could be held partially or fully liable for the incident if your oil tank removal company did not have valid coverage or if you hired the worker directly.

How Can You Protect Yourself From This Happening To You?

• Ask your oil tank removal company if they currently have Worksafe BC coverage
• Request a clearance letter from your oil tank removal company to confirm that they have coverage.
• If you feel that the company is being dishonest about their coverage, suspect that invalid or altered documentation was provided to you. You can inquire about their coverage status by requesting a clearance letter on the Worksafe BC website. For your convenience, the link to this clearance letter request can be found below or on the bottom of our home page at oiltank.ca
• If you have multiple contractors working on a project, make sure that they all have coverage and that a primary contractor has been assigned.

In a related article involving a renovation at Gordon Campbell’s summer home written by  The Vancouver Sun. A worker died when he fell 18 ft through a skylight during the project. There were multiple contractors on site that had Worksafe BC coverage however, because no contractor was assigned as the primary contractor, Gordon Campbell was held liable by default.

Hopefully, you have not been in this situation before and never have to deal with this issue, but at least now you should be more prepared when hiring a oil tank removal contractor.

Remember, it is the law that most companies are required to have Worksafe BC coverage.  Make sure that you and the oil tank removal company you choose is protected before you decide to hire them.  

Rest assured knowing that Tri City Tank Tech has valid WorkSafe BC and General Liability coverage.  We are proud to be accredited members of the BBB and consistently maintain an A+ Rating.