With increasing responsibilities arising from environmental regulation and legislation, prudent business owners take a closer look at the environmental liabilities they may face.
Whilst your traditional Public Liability policy would likely cover things like slip and falls, food poisoning, or water that has entered the tank resulting in damage to customer vehicles.
Unfortunately, in many instances, they find that their traditional liability insurance will not cover them for potential pollution liabilities.
What Is Environmental/ Pollution Liability Insurance?
This insurance is designed to protect against sudden and gradual first and third-party environmental liabilities stemming from a storage tank at a covered location. Such as:
- Coverage for sudden, accidental, and gradual pollution
- Coverage for remediation costs for pollution emanating from the insured locations
- Coverage for remediation costs for claims from government agencies for pollution stemming from the insured locations
- Third-party coverage for bodily injury or property damage, and coverage for liability to third parties for costs for pollution emanating from the insured locations
- Coverage for legal defense expenses for any claims covered under the policy
- Coverage is not excluded for emotional distress or mental anguish claims
- Coverage is available for natural resource damages claims
Why Is It Necessary?
It provides coverage for claims & corrective action costs in respect of:
- Pollution Conditions arising from Storage Tank Incidents
- Cleanup costs at both first & third party sites
- Third-party property damage
- Third-party bodily injury
- Natural resources damage
- Diminution in value of third-party property
- Legal defense costs
- Fines & penalties
- Emergency response
Claim examples are as follows:
Example 1:
*A service station in Blackburn, Victoria caused significant contamination from years of operation
*In July 2012, following an EPA order, a groundwater remediation system was installed to remove hydrocarbons from the local groundwater
*The cleanup will take approx. 12 months and cost $500,000 – $1,000,000
Example 2:
*Two x 15,000L fuel tanks were discovered to be leaking at a service station at a Southern Sydney beachside suburb
*The leak was discovered when fumes could be smelled at an adjacent recreational park
*Remediation included soil remediation and relining existing tanks
*EPA enforced cleanup at a cost above $1,000,000+
Choose National Insurance Services
A professional insurance broker is someone that handles communication between your business and an insurance company. They offer advice and explain the details of the type of insurance you are looking for. When you decide the type of insurance you want, the broker negotiates to get your business’s best premiums and prices. If an incident occurs and you must make a claim, the broker can stay in contact with the insurance provider to ensure the best outcome for all parties.
National Insurance Services’ director Chris Yates provides expert advice and guidance to business owners, ensuring they have the best experience. National Insurance Services is committed to finding the best insurance solutions specifically tailored to you. With over 18 years of experience, Chris has proven to be the optimal choice to help put your business on the path to safety and success. Don’t wait for disaster; contact Dan Armes on 0490 415 063 or [email protected], and we will organise for Chris to do a free review of your insurance policies.