If you have ever been in a position that warrants the search for pollution liability insurance, you know that wading through page after page of information on the subject can quickly become tiring. Luckily, the team at Ramtox created this article to explain pollution liability insurance and provide information about coverage, limitations, and more.
What Is Pollution Liability Insurance?
Pollution liability insurance protects businesses against claims related to pollution. This safety net offsets the costs of unexpected pollution-related losses and damages. Simplified, this form of insurance helps businesses handle the financial burden of legal costs and cleanup expenses following operational accidents relating to environmental pollution, such as spills and contamination. Accidents like this can lead to costly lawsuits for property damages or bodily injury. Environmental liability insurance fills the gap between what your policy covers and what you need your policy to cover.
Why is Pollution Liability Insurance Important?
As global output increases, so does concern for the environment. Public interest in preserving the state of our environment has spotlighted the way large companies impact the environment and, in turn, influence how those companies conduct their business. People generally hold companies more strictly accountable for the environmental damage they cause, regardless of intention.
One intervention implemented to address these concerns is pollution liability insurance and environmental consulting services. Contamination can occur on existing property or projects, causing losses such as bodily injury, cleanup costs, property damage, and more. If a business causes these losses, it is legally responsible for compensating for them.
The risk of contamination or spill can be great. Fortunately, environmental liability insurance is available to mitigate some of these risks, address problems as they arise, and offset some of the cost should you find yourself responsible for a claim in response to contamination or spills.
What Does Pollution Liability Insurance Cover?
Insurance coverage can vary, so knowing your policy and what it covers could mean the difference between a smooth fix and a costly mistake. While there is no exact answer on what every environmental liability insurance policy covers, there are details you should ensure your policy covers before proceeding further.
What Should Your Policy Cover?
- Cleanup costs: Expenses related to the cleanup and removal of the spill or contamination.
- Emergency response costs: Expenses incurred following a disaster, such as debris removal and immediate relief expenses.
- Damage to natural resources: Relates to recoverable damages for the injuries to natural resources due to the release of hazardous substances.
- Property damage, both tangible and lost income: This refers to visible harm caused by physical damage and property that is not destroyed but does not function as it originally did and, consequently, requires temporary housing or equipment rental.
- Loss of use of tangible property that has not been physically damaged: Refers to loss related to the restriction of use of the damaged property during repairs.
- Bodily injury, both acute and chronic: Refers to any illness, condition, or injury incurred as a result of environmental pollution, whether short or long-term.
- Losses as a result of pollutants: Concerns loss and damage related to fungus, bacteria, asbestos, lead, silica, and contaminated drywall.
- County-required insurance coverage or endorsements: These are the specific information your county requires. Your policy must include them.
When evaluating your need for environmental insurance, understand your policy triggers. Some policies are based on occurrence, and others on claims made.
Pollution Liability Insurance
Pollution liability insurance provides crucial protection for businesses against claims related to environmental contamination and pollution. Today’s society is more environmentally conscious than ever before, and people hold businesses more strictly accountable for the footprint they leave on the environment, making pollution liability insurance a great asset.
If your organization has yet to get pollution liability insurance, contact Ramtox and get started with their highly-rated environmental consulting services.