The Powderhorn Agency and the New England Fuel Institute (NEFI) are collaborating on a new set of protection and warranty programs to help energy marketers forge deeper relationships with their customers.
During the recent Southern New England Energy Conference, in Newport, R.I., Powderhorn President Gary Missigman introduced the programs to marketers. NEFI and Powderhorn are offering several products for NEFI members to market.
“NEFI feels that this set of home warranty products can bring great benefits to our members. It is more important than ever for our oil providers to differentiate and diversify to continue to thrive in today’s competitive oil heat industry,” the Institute wrote in endorsing the program. “The ProGuard Program and the ProGuard Plus Program can provide you with the products needed to do this.”
The NEFI-specific version of Powderhorn’s ProGuard Oil Tank Protection Program pays up to $1,500 to replace a customer’s oil tank. The program is tailored to support heating oil dealers, according to Missigman. Customers are required to be on automatic delivery in order to purchase tank protection, and in the event of a tank replacement they are required to continue heating with oil for at least one year.
NEFI ProGuard Plus Tank Protection will protect aboveground tanks with first-party and third-party cleanup up to $50,000, except in Massachusetts, where the third-party limit is $200,000, per state law. The program includes a $500 claim deductible.
For underground tanks, NEFI ProGuard Plus Tank Protection provides first-party and third party cleanup up to $100,000, with a $1,500 tank replacement limit for a new aboveground tank and a $2,000 limit on a new underground tank. There is a deductible of $1,000 per claim or $3,000 for a voluntary tank pull or abandonment.
In addition to coverage for tanks, Powderhorn is offering the Pro-Sept Residential Septic System Protection program, which provides repair or replacement coverage up to $25,000; a $2,500 sublimit for peat module replacement; and a $500 deductible. Systems must be pumped and inspected prior to enrollment, and the system must be pumped every one to three years, as required, while coverage is in effect.
The NEFI ProGuard Plus Program also includes a menu of standalone warranty products for different systems and appliances in the home. The ApplianceProtect Home Service Plan provides coverage for most home appliances, including dishwasher, refrigerator, clothes washer and dryer, microwave, oven/range/cooktop, range exhaust fan, and trash compactor. The SystemsProtect Home Service Plan provides coverage for all major systems in the home: electrical, air conditioning, heating and plumbing.
Powderhorn also offers the TotalProtect Home Service Plan, which combines the coverage of ApplianceProtect and SystemsProtect. Powderhorn’s home warranty program has been especially developed for oil providers to offer their customers as the ideal complement to a dealer’s service contracts. In the event of a claim that requires service work a dealer performs, the customer will automatically be directed to their heating dealer for those repairs.
NEFI members who want to learn more about the protection and warranty products can visit the newly revised Powderhorn Agency website at www.powderhornagency.com. The website has special resources for marketers, including enrollment applications for Powderhorn’s ProGuard tank protection program as well as the new program, ProGuard Plus, which provides a menu of home warranty programs. To apply, dealers simply enter the Dealers section of the site, where they can complete online registration for the various programs.
