FAQs

We have been in business since 1999 offering homeowners comprehensive financial protection plans for their home’s most essential systems:oil tanks and septic systems for close to three decades.

ProGuard was founded in Brookfield, Connecticut as has been a Connecticut-based business ever since. We recently relocated to Norwalk, Connecticut, from where we look after homeowners with septic systems and oil tanks nationwide.

We sell and administer comprehensive protection plans to homeowners across the United States that have a septic system and/or oil tank.If you purchase a plan from ProGuard, you will be covered when these essential systems fail.

Our plans help protect you from:

• Repair or replacement bills
• Environmental clean-up costs

When your home’s essential systems fail due to things such as:

• Wear & tear
• Corrosion
• Aging

When oil tanks or septic systems fail, they create a mess that poses:

• expensive problems to solve leaving you financially exposed
• risks to your family’s health
• disruption to your daily family life
• an environmental catastrophe

ProGuard offers:

• Coverage up to $100,000 for clean-up costs associated with your home’s systems failure meaning you’ll not be out of pocket or face environmental risks and threats
• A network of technicians and contractors to repair or replace your essential system
• Peace of mind by providing access to our expert claims handling team and on-site project managers with 25+ years’ worth of expertise and experience in solving these problems quickly so you can get back to your normal daily life

A home warranty is a financial protection product that homeowners purchase to protect their home’s appliances and systems. ProGuard focuses on the most essential systems of all: septic systems and oil tanks, and cover what others will not. Our plans provide customers with peace-of-mind and financial protection such that when an essential system fails, we promise to fix, repair or replace the system within the coverage benefits. ProGuard also offers valuable benefits of environmental remediation and clean-up for oil spills.

Homeowners' insurance provides coverage against financial loss in the event of an accident or ‘peril’ (e.g. fire, hail, theft, vandalism, falling objects, etc.). If this happens, the insurance company will just cut the policy holder a check leaving them to figure out how to spend that money and solve the problem. Importantly, insurance does not protect against wear & tear, aging, lack of maintenance, etc. Additionally, most homeowners’ insurance policies do not cover oil tanks or septic systems.

Proguard protection plan provides customers with access to a network of technicians who can fix, repair, or replace their essential systems. We also provide our customers with coverage of up to $100,000 for environmental clean-up and remediation, backed by expertise and resources to handle and solve these problems quickly for our customers.

ProGuard is a fully underwritten financial protection program. This means that ProGuard is backed by the world’s leading insurance companies such that when a ProGuard customer has a claim, they can rest assured we have an AM Best A+ rated insurance carrier with a large balance sheet and adequate reserves to pay claims.

Whether you are closing on your first home, building a new house, or a longer-term homeowner, protecting your home’s most essential system should be top of mind. Septic systems will fail, and (unlike say, a failed dishwasher or washing machine) make your home unlivable until it is fixed. A failed septic system will consume your time and bring you risk and worry because repairing or replacing the system is costly: they require material, labor, expertise, regulatory understanding, and permitting. A ProGuard plan for your septic system can protect you financially, help fix the problem quickly, reduce risks to your family’s health, and mitigate an environmental disaster. Ultimately, this provides homeowners with peace of mind.

When your septic system fails, it can create the following problems:

• Waste water can back-up into your home through your toilets, sinks and showers.
• It can pose a significant health risk to your family.
• Waste water can ruin furnishings if it backs up beyond your bathrooms.
• The odor can be extremely unpleasant for you, your family and home. The smell can spread to your neighbor’s property too, creating a wider problem for you.
• Waste water can bubble up in your yard making it unsafe for your family and pets, and create a serious liability if it gets into local water systems or your neighbor’s property.
• There is no substitute for a failed septic system. If your toilets cannot flush – your only plan B may be to move out.
• If there is environmental damage, the municipal or state DEP may take action against you.

ProGuard currently offers septic system coverage costs from $599 annually with more curated products on the way.

ProGuard’s Septic Systems Protection Plans covers up to $25,000 for costs associated with your septic system repair, replacement and clean-up/remediation, including:

• Leech field repair or replacement
• The septic tank repair or replacement
• Distribution box repair or replacement
• Aerated chamber and internal aerators, valves, controls, filters, lid, riser rings
• Pipes leading from the tank to the leech field
• Associated labor and materials costs

ProGuard’s Septic System Plan do not cover pre-existing conditions prior to when you purchased coverage.

Yes, you will need to pay a deductible of $500 to access claim benefits.

Our customers typically buy annual coverage, meaning you will be covered for 1 year. If you have had a new system recently installed, you can purchase a 5-year version of our septic system plan.

Yes, if you are selling your home, your plan can be transferred to the new homeowner.

Purchasing a Septic System Protection Plan from ProGuard is simple, and takes minutes.Simply click ‘Get Coverage’, choose the product you want, enter your details and make payment via credit card, debit card, or send in a check along with an application.

Don’t worry, you’re in safe hands. We’ve been in business for over 25 years and we’ve seen it all.

You should immediately contact us to file a claim either online or by calling us on 888-354-0677. Once a claim has been filed, you will be assigned an expert claims handler who will request specific information, including photos which can be easily uploaded to our platform via your phone.We will then assign one of our field experts to your case, and they will be in touch with you to project manage your claim to successful close in a timely manner and to the standards that we demand from our technician and contractor network.

Indicators of a septic system failure include the following:

• Drains and toilets on the lowest level of the house do not empty and flushing makes the problem a lot worse.
• Wet spots and/or foul smells in the yard.

An underground oil tank is hidden in the soil. The only sign of its existence will be a fill pipe and vent pipe above where the tank is located. Aboveground tanks are visible. Even if a tank is situated in a basement below the level of the ground outside – ProGuard views it as an aboveground tank.

Aboveground tanks will give years of faithful service but, like anything, in time they will fail. Almost always they corrode from the inside-out, so you will not know when a leak is about to happen until it is too late. Oil from a leaking indoor tank can easily escape through cracks in concrete slab or, even worse, get into a basement sump and into waterways, causing an expensive environmental nightmare. An outdoor tank that leaks will pollute the soil and water courses too. If there is a leak, your state or town will have strict rules on cleanup and soil disposal, costing you tens of thousands of you do not have ProGuard coverage.

Once you have been a member ProGuard also offers a great way to reassure a homebuyer if you sell your home. Coverage is transferable from you to the homebuyer.

There are many to list – and only ProGuard knows how to handle them:

• The first crisis to handle will be how to remove the oil from the bad tank. You may have a literal ton of oil in the tank that now is escaping. Calling a specialist emergency contractor to pump the oil out will cost thousands.
• Now your home has no heat.
• You now need to find someone to replace the tank. You are in a hurry as you have no way to heat your home. The contractor knows this, so you have no power to negotiate price with them. The price goes up.
• The contractor points to all the environmental regulations that have been broken and how onerous the cleanup is. Now the bill is heading to five-figures.
• If the oil has escaped to neighboring land you lay be liable to clean up that property too.
• The job is often NOT DONE until the DEP says the soil is clean enough.

Our standard price for Aboveground Oil Tank Protection is $189 per year; however, if you use one of our partners to deliver your oil or install your new oil tank, you may be eligible for a discount. Check our ‘Get Coverage’ page for more details.

Our Aboveground Oil Tank Protection Plan provides $50,000 of environmental clean-up coverage. It also contributes $2,000 to the cost of a new tank. When you enroll, your tank needs to be in good condition (see our criteria here) and not leaking. If your tank does not meet our criteria or has already started to fail at time of enrollment, your claim will be denied.

If you are the owner of the tank (if you are the homeowner, you will be) and it meets our criteria and is not leaking, you can enroll.

Almost certainly not. Tanks fail due to corrosion / wear and tear, which is a general exclusion in most policies, and many policies specifically exclude the consequences of oil contamination for any reason as well.

Click on the ‘Get Coverage’ link above to enroll! If you have received a ProGuard mailer or leaflet with a QR code, scan that code for your personalized offer.

Our standard coverage lasts one year. If you have just bought your home or had a new tank installed, 5-year coverages may be available for you.

Yes, but it is only $500.

Don’t worry, you’re in safe hands. We’ve been in business for over 25 years and we’ve seen it all.

You should immediately contact us to file a claim either online or by calling us on 888-354-0677. Once a claim has been filed, you will be assigned an expert claims handler who will request specific information. We will then assign one of our field experts to your case, and they will be in touch with you to project manage your claim to successful close in a timely manner and to the standards that we demand from our technician and contractor network.

Oil companies specialize in delivering oil – we specialize in protecting oil tanks. Your oil company might offer you a ‘tank protection program’ – if it is not ProGuard then it is likely a shallow coverage, often only offering a discount on a replacement tank, and no clean-up or environmental remediation. Nor does it offer the expertise, independence or impartiality that we offer in representing you when a claim occurs. Importantly, these plans are not underwritten by a large insurance company and so you can’t be 100% sure they will be there to pay your claim. Look for the name ‘ProGuard’ before you buy!

An underground oil tank is hidden in the soil. The only sign of its existence will be a fill pipe and vent pipe above where the tank is located. Aboveground tanks are visible. Even if a tank is situated in a basement below the level of the ground outside – ProGuard views it as an aboveground tank.

All underground tanks, which were typically made of steel and installed decades ago, are now corroding from their contact with the soil and water. Every one will eventually leak, it is just a matter of time. Once oil escapes, it will make its way through the soil towards water courses. If there is a leak, your state or town will have strict rules on cleanup and soil disposal, costing you tens of thousands of you do not have ProGuard coverage.

ProGuard also offers a great way to reassure a homebuyer if you sell your home. Coverage is transferable. Contrary to real estate folklore, there is NO requirement to remove your underground tank in order to sell your house.

There are many to list – and only ProGuard knows how to handle them:

• The first crisis to handle will be how to remove the oil from the bad tank. You may have a literal ton of oil in the tank that now is escaping. Calling a specialist emergency contractor to pump the oil out will cost thousands.
• Your home has no heat.
• You now need to find someone to install an aboveground tank. You are in a hurry as you have no way to heat your home. The contractor knows this, so you have no power to negotiate price with them. The price goes up.
• The contractor points to all the environmental regulations that have been broken and how onerous the cleanup is. Now the bill is heading to five-figures.
• If the oil has escaped to neighboring land you lay be liable to clean up that property too.
• Work starts to remove the tank, but if your soil is sandy or the tank is close to the home – you may need to support the home. The bill approaches six figures.
• The job is often NOT DONE until the DEP says the soil is clean enough.

It varies on the location of the tank and if you are with a partner of ProGuard for delivery of your oil. Coverages start at $471.

Underground Oil Tank Protection Plan provides $100,000 of environmental clean-up coverage. It also contributes $1,500 to the cost of a new tank.

When you enroll, you need to have a soil test performed that is to our standards to confirm your tank is not leaking oil before your enrollment is accepted. Call us to find out more about this requirement.

Almost certainly not. Tanks fail due to corrosion / wear and tear, which is a general exclusion in most policies, and many policies specifically exclude the consequences of oil contamination for any reason as well.

Call us first to discuss your circumstances and how to get a soil test performed. We only accept soil tests from certain laboratories.

Our typical coverage lasts one year.

Yes, there is a deductible of $2,500.

Don’t worry, you’re in safe hands. We’ve been in business for over 25 years and we’ve seen it all.

You should immediately contact us to file a claim either online or by calling us on 888-354-0677. Once a claim has been filed, you will be assigned an expert claims handler who will request specific information. We will then assign one of our field experts to your case, and they will be in touch with you to project manage your claim to successful close in a timely manner and to the standards that we demand from our technician and contractor network.

Oil companies specialize in delivering oil – we specialize in protecting oil tanks. Your oil company might offer you a ‘tank protection program’ – if it is not ProGuard then it is likely a shallow coverage, often only offering a discount on a replacement tank, and no clean-up or environmental remediation. Nor does it offer the expertise, independence or impartiality that we offer in representing you when a claim occurs.Importantly, these plans are not underwritten by a large insurance company and so you can’t be 100% sure they will be there to pay your claim. Look for the name ‘ProGuard’ before you buy!

A ProGuard Partner is a business or organization that we work with to provide our protection plans. These businesses are our distribution partners; bringing ProGuard’s value proposition to their customers and benefitting as a result.

ProGuard’s plans provide the following:

• Peace of mind that their home’s most essential systems are protected by a comprehensive plan that includes financial protection, convenience, and expertise.
• An affordable way to reduce their customers anxiety about their homes most essential systems and the risks that these systems pose should they fail.
• A company that has been around for nearly 3 decades that they can rely on when they have claim.

ProGuard’s partners benefit from the following:

• Increase customer loyalty and ‘stickiness’.
• The opportunity to have a positive touch-point with their customers evidencing they understand the risks their customers face with owning such systems and offering a valuable way to significantly reduce that risk.
• Depending on the size of your customer base, an opportunity to build an additional ancillary revenue stream in your business through shared economics with ProGuard.
• The ability to divest legal and reputational risk, whether justified or not. Customers might blame their installer, landlord, maintenance company or fuel oil distributor if they have a problem with their essential system. If that is you – ProGuard can take care of that for both them and you. In fact – your reputation & customer satisfaction score will likely increase because you introduced your customers to ProGuard.

Partnering with us is simple and can be done in less than 3 weeks if your company is motivated to partner with us, and has a resource dedicated to providing ProGuard with the necessary information. Once an agreement has been signed, we can begin providing our plans to your customers and provide you with reports on the results.

If you would like to become a partner, email us at partnerships@proguardplans.com and a senior member of our team will be in touch within a day.

We value speed, motivation, operational capabilities, a commercial mindset, and a minimum customer base. Without these important inputs, a partnership can be difficult to establish. While we also distribute via Direct-To-Consumer (“D2C”), our preference is to distribute our plans through our valued partners.