The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has warned homeowners not to hoard fuel at home as it would lead to their insurance policy becoming void.
With rising fuel prices across the country as a result of the Middle East conflict, many Australians are stockpiling fuel at home, which could have dangerous consequences, considering that these are classified as hazardous material.
According to a report by realestate.com.au, quoting an ICA spokesman, policyholders have a duty to disclose anything that materially changes the risk profile of their property and significant fuel storage may constitute such a change. Moreover, home insurance policies have exclusions for loss or damage arising from failure to comply with laws and those considering storing large quantities of fuel on premises must comply with applicable standards for storage of dangerous goods.
Homeowners have been asked to check on the terms of their insurance policies, as most standard policies have specific exclusions for damage or liability from hazardous materials like stored fuel, pollution or contamination from chemical spills, materials not stored according to legal requirements and any bulk fuel storage above basic domestic purposes. Any incident arising from the storage of these hazardous materials could leave homeowners footing the entire bill for clean-up costs, property damage and even liability to neighbours in such circumstances.