Airmic

CALL TO INSURERS FOR MORE INCLUSIVE POLLUTION COVER

An on-going tentative atmosphere is making it unnecessarily difficult to obtain environmental liability cover for pollution, an AIRMIC conference workshop heard today.

“We’re continuing to equate gradual pollution with Superfund-type proportions,” Gary Marshall, risk manager with the Polestar Group told delegates. “The truth is that the vast majority of pollution incidents nowadays are gradual and they happen because of some systems or human failure. That’s what insurance should be for, yet they can be very difficult to cover.”

Risk managers have long claimed that exclusions in pollution cover under Public Liability policies frequently render them useless when it comes to a pollution claim. Companies can choose instead to purchase more expensive EIL (Environmental Impairment Liability) insurance, but that also tends to have extensive gaps.

Gary Marshall called for extended wordings that reflect the real world and the needs of corporate customers. “I’m calling for people to take a less prohibitive view of life.  We’ve got this very limited pollution cover in most policies (including 1^st party property). Let’s reflect where we are in terms of environmental liability. Things have moved on since Superfund, and so should we,” he said.

The AIRMIC annual conference, “Competitive Advantage Through Risk Management”, is at the QE2 Conference Centre, Westminster from June 5-6. AIRMIC (the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers) represents UK-based risk managers, including 75% of FTSE 100 companies.