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Ecclesiastical insurer warns of oil thefts at Atlantic Canada churches


July 15, 2008   by Canadian Underwriter


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Given the rise in fuel prices over the past few months to $1.37 and higher, ecclesiastical insurers have a new risk to manage fuel theft.
Ecclesiastical Insurance has issued a public statement expressing concern that two churches in Atlantic Canada recently had significant amounts of oil stolen from their exterior oil tanks.
Jim Morton, a Halifax-based risk control specialist with Ecclesiastical Insurance, says he worries about the impact this type of theft will have on faith communities, as well as concern about the possibility of similar incidents occurring across Canada.
“In addition to losing costly oil, the targeted churches were left with damaged tanks and oil spills, resulting in significant clean-up expense,” Ecclesiastical Insurance says in a press release. “Thieves are accessing tank contents via unlocked filler pipes and by cutting copper oil lines not only for the value of the copper, but as a means of siphoning oil from the tanks.”
Ecclesiastical Insurance says it predicts thefts and attempted oil thefts will increase as fuel prices rise. The insurer has developed important protocols and preventive measures that it says may help deter thieves. They include:?
padlocks fitted to the filler pipe cover;
covering exposed fittings and valves with valve detectors;
using oil safety valves/anti-siphon valves that automatically shut off the flow of oil from a tank when a line between the valve and the oil burner becomes broken or severed;
replacing oil lines with hacksaw-resistant oil lines coated with a polyethylene sheathing (coating);
employing fencing and framed enclosures with locked doors or gates to protect oil tanks from malicious damage and oil theft;
establishing better lighting around exterior oil tanks;
instituting ‘Church Watch’ programs; and
switching to interior tanks, specifically double-walled tanks with 2 layers of protection.


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