Our Unique History
Underground storage tanks (UST) became the single most legislated topic in Iowa in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Like the rest of the United States, Iowa was faced with the reality that petroleum USTs were largely unregulated and if a UST leaked, contamination could cause significant environmental damage. With the onset of new operational regulations, the insurance industry pulled out of the UST environmental risk market. There was too much uncertainty about the possible source and cause of leaks from UST systems and the cost of corrective action associated with leaks that occurred over the past 50 years.
Petroleum is an integral component of the transportation system required to support an agriculturally based economy. With more than 950 communities and over 114,000 miles of roads and highways, Iowa needed a reliable petroleum distribution market to support the United States’ leading producer of corn, soybeans, pork and eggs. In 1989, Iowa created a UST fund to address existing petroleum contamination if the contamination was discovered and reported by October 26, 1990. The Fund was supported with a $0.01 per gallon Environmental Protection Charge (EPC) to assist tank owners to pay for corrective action of existing contamination. However, the state did not want to create a long-term program, so it required that tank owners must obtain insurance coverage for possible future leaks. The EPC was sunset in 2017.
UST coverage was not readily available in Iowa in 1990. So, the Iowa legislature created an insurance program funded only by premiums charged to participating tank owners and directed that the program end when private insurance was available. In 2000, tank owners participating in the state insurance program created a private mutual insurance company that accepted all assets and all liabilities of the insurance program. Petroleum Marketers Mutual Insurance Company (PMMIC) was born.
PMMIC has been successfully operating as a private insurance company since November 8, 2000. PMMIC provides coverage for USTs and ASTs with retroactive dates as far back as 1990. PMMIC mutual members converted PMMIC to a stock insurance company in 2005 and became the only shareholders of the company (Petroleum Marketers Management Insurance Company). Today PMMIC is an AM BEST A rated insurer. PMMIC is still the only private insurance company that has successfully transitioned UST owners from a state fund to private insurance without a lapse of coverage between the fund and the private insurance. PMMIC was created by UST owners for UST owners. PMMIC is still owned by UST owners.
From our inception, PMMIC has focused on loss control to protect our insureds’s (and our owners) assets. PMMIC provides an annual loss control inspection for every insured facility every year, depending on the policy type. We provide Class A and Class B Operator training for our customers. Our loss control program has allowed us to offer the best coverage at the best price for our customers.
If you are interested in purchasing coverage for your petroleum storage tank system, or if you need information on the best management practices for operating your facility, we’re here to help.
We insure tanks of all ages! We do not cancel or non-renew policies due to tank age.
