Environmental Insurance and Why You May Need It

Pollution exclusions found in most commercial insurance policies can leave policyholders including companies, property owners, and independent contractors uninsured against significant loss exposures. To mitigate the severity of liability claims, Acrisure offers various types of environmental insurance for first-party (property) and third-party (liability) risk management and coverage.

From contractors working on a site where contamination triggers a claim to chemical processors whose products are spilled in transit by a third party, we can help you find the right liability policies and stock throughput offerings and much more to help reduce your risks and help protect your company’s operations and financial security.

Common Sources of Environmental Liability Exposure

Environmental liability losses can be incurred through torts, contractual obligations, or violations of statutes. Actual or alleged release of pollutants, violation of laws designed to protect human health and the environment from those pollutants, or enforcement of environmental protection laws requiring remediation expense payment are all common sources of liability.

Comprehensive environmental insurance should address four key areas of risk to help protect against exposure and losses related to:

• Bodily injury.
• Property damage.
• Cleanup expenses.
• Defense costs.

Environmental Insurance Case Studies

Once you realize you need coverage, it could be too late. Consider the following examples:

• A contractor working at a manufacturing facility left a valve open on a process line overnight. The next day it was discovered that the contents of a storage tank connected to the line had been released into an adjacent stream, causing property damage, bodily injury, and natural resource damage.
• An auto accident occurred in the downtown section of a city and involved a hazardous waste hauler headed for a disposal facility. The hazardous liquid being transported was released into the street. Passersby inhaled the fumes, and the business district of the city was evacuated for two days as cleanup contractors responded to the spill. Claims were filed against the transporter alleging bodily injury, property damage, and business interruption.
• Despite conducting inspections before buying an industrial site, a business owner faced claims of underlying and undiscovered contamination unrelated to the business currently housed at the site.

Environmental insurance can help cover you while projects are in process as well as after the fact as demonstrated in the examples above.

Depending on your specific operation and risks, solutions can be personalized to help provide protection and peace of mind. Some of our offerings include:

• Contractors Pollution Liability for general and artisan contractors, both environmental and non-environmental of any size.
• Stock Throughput and Pollution Liability Exposure for distributors, logistics companies, importers/exporters, manufacturers, chemical, oil, and gas industries, major retail companies, high tech, biotech, and pharmaceutical industries, and agricultural industries.
• Pollution Legal Liability for real estate owners, operators, property managers, and tenants within the industrial, commercial, and institutional industries.
• Contractors Pollution and Professional Liability for contractors and design-build firms.

Solution-Driven Risk Mitigation

Looking to be more protected from the risks of unexpected pollutants and pollution events? Contact us to discuss your environmental insurance and business insurance needs and begin developing comprehensive protection.