If you are an environmental professional, you know everything about exposures to distinctive risks. Thanks to them, insurance companies offer specialized coverage, adapted to the industry - as well as to the owner and the lender who finance houses and commercial buildings and properties. This brief summary of related forms of coverage has been compiled to provide related parties with an easy-to-read glossary on the issue.
Insurance for the environmental professional:
* Coverage of errors and omissions of environmental consultants
This insurance cover protects the environmental consultant from legal proceedings linked to alleged faulty directives and instructions which lead to economic damage. The coverage of legal fees is also included in the benefits of this type of professional liability policy.
* Obligations of environmental entrepreneurs
Contractors cleaning up pollution and contamination can purchase a bid and performance bond through an underwriter who provides special forms of compensation to improve industry liability coverage.
* Liability coverage for environmental damage
Liability insurance for environmental damage aims to cover what is excluded for the professional in his form or his commercial civil liability policy. This cover can be purchased from a specialized insurance company and includes compensation for damage suffered due to environmental degradation and cleaning expenses. It is important to review the current commercial liability coverage to ensure that there is no overlap, as well as to ensure that there are no gaps in the protection coverage, if the commercial responsibility policy has an absolute exclusion of pollution in the form.
* Coverage of environmental sanitation entrepreneurs
We rely on environmental sanitation contractors to clean up contaminated properties. Associated liability risks include: insufficient or incomplete remediation, spreading of polluted soil during remediation or excavation, atmospheric emissions from aquifers, rupturing underground pipelines or utilities, spills or leaks contractor's tanks, mixture of incompatible materials or resulting waste in case of fire, explosion, hazardous vapor emission and improperly installed tanks.
Insurance for the real estate buyer and the mortgage lender:
* Coverage of the environmental assessment of the site
This type of assessment is actually an inspection service provided by an independent engineering company, approved by the underwriter. The environmental assessment of the site must accompany the examination and the request for an environmental liability insurance policy or transfer of property from the lender. Both the homebuyer and the lender need this insurance to protect them from Superfund-type obligations that may arise from the contamination of property that was not discovered before it was sold. This coverage can protect the insured from unforeseen costs associated with cleaning up contamination discovered following the purchase.
For a more in-depth discussion of environmental insurance, speak to an independent insurance professional.
