2. Environmental Pollution Insurance
– property owners and business
operators*
Other related insurances:
• Contractors Pollution Liability –
companies working on third party sites
• Professional Indemnity Insurance – for
consultants
3. Designed to deal with pollution and
waste issues
Relevant because:
environment legislation is changing
cleanup costs are more onerous and
expensive
existing policies may give you no
protection
penalties higher
4. Existing general insurance products:
- General Liability Policies
- Industrial Special Risk
You are not covered for a whole range
of bad things that can happen*
Case studies highlighting exclusions
(eg pollution)
6. Australian Environment Business Network
initiative
Who should consider having EPI cover?
Any business that uses or stores non-trivial
amounts of chemicals or hazardous materials that
could damage the environment or affect other
people’s property should consider EPI cover as they
run the risk of causing a pollution incident and
incurring associated liabilities.
http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/pollution/epi.htm
Notas do Editor
Also know as environmental risk insurance, environmental liability insurance, pollution liability insurance and environmental impairment liability insurance
Terminology is confusing with insurance companies using these terms interchangeably
Not Professional Indemnity insurance used by consultants
Standard business liability insurance often excludes loss caused by pollution and environmental damage, or only provides cover in limited circumstances. A policy with EPI cover can help fill this gap.
If a general liability policy provides any cover at all, it is often limited to third-party claims for off-site damage to property and bodily harm from sudden and accidental escape of pollution. This may not cover, for example:
the costs of complying with a clean-up order by a regulator
on-site damage to your own property
environmental clean-up of other peoples properties
decontamination of your property following a fire, flood or storm
damage caused by contaminated run-off or escape following an on-site fire
loss or damage associated with gradual pollution events, such as groundwater contamination caused by pipeline leakage or underground storage tanks
cost of collection, transport, treatment or disposal of contaminated fire water.
Thanks to XL Andrew Hookings for this one
Our broker advised us not to disclose the location of this policy (its that good!)
Thought the underwriter may get nervous. This particular policy covered known and unknown pre-existing conditions.
Bit of a mystery. Insurance Council of Australia is no help at all.
NSW EPA recommends:
Speak to your insurer or broker. While EPI cover is widely available in some other countries it is still relatively new to Australia. As a result, not all insurance companies will offer it and not all brokers will be aware of it.
Marsh and AON really the only insurance companies with capacity in this area.
