Environmental Insurance

“My client has a general liability policy.  Why do they need a stand-alone pollution policy?”

General liability policies are imperative to any business operation, but it does not fill all of the liability gaps.  If not outright excluded, GL policies have limited environmental coverage that may not provide comprehensive pollution coverage and could leave the customer facing substantial clean-up costs and other liability exposures resulting from their operations. Environmental Impairment Liability policies are created to help close the gap created by the pollution exclusions within a GL policy and ultimately add another layer of protection to help protect the insured’s balance sheet.

“I don’t have any environmental exposure. Should I still consider securing an environmental policy?”

In some instances, environmental exposure is not as evident as what most people think a pollution exposure might look like (queue the large industrial/chemical manufacturing company with green goo seeping from several 55-gallon drums.)  Pollution incidents can arise from a variety of sources, some of which we may face each day.   For instance, with the right set of circumstances, mold growth may form in some of the most benign locations, causing the need for proper abatement.

Everyday chemicals such as cleaning products or general maintenance supplies, if improperly used or stored, may cause bodily injury to third parties.   Or unknown historical issues at your property may be discovered resulting in hundreds of thousands in unexpected cleanup costs.    The list goes on.  Truth be told, almost any business has environmental exposure, even if you are not handling the most toxic and dangerous of chemicals in your operation.

“There are a lot of environmental carriers.  Why should I work with Aspen?”

Aspen Environmental is an established environmental market, not only with seasoned and experienced underwriters ready to help find mutually beneficial solutions for our insureds, but also with a robust and customer-focused dedicated claims team.

The pace of business requires that our underwriting and claims departments make quick and transparent decisions that better serves our customers.  That is why all of our branches have significant authority to respond to requests, without the need for home office referral, in most instances.

Aspen’s appetite and approach to the business is consistent, and we avoid making rash decisions that adversely impact our trading partners relationships with their clients.  With global capabilities, but with a local focus, Aspen is ready to serve our trading partners and establish long-term relationships with our insured.

Product Coverage

The Aspen Insurance Environmental team offers a versatile policy covering general liability and environmental exposures on either a primary or an excess basis.

General Liability and Environmental Exposure (GLEE) – Primary

Aspen Environmental offers a versatile policy covering primary general liability, environmental exposures and professional exposures. A menu of coverages can be tailored to address facilities liabilities or service contractor liabilities. Additional coverage including but not limited to transportation pollution, non-owned locations, emergency response, crisis management and products pollution can be included within policy to meet a majority of the customer’s liability coverage needs.

Commercial Environmental Excess Follow Form (CEEX)

Aspen also offers an excess follow form policy that can sit excess of our GLEE-Primary Policy (supported) or a similar coverage form offered by a competitor (unsupported).  The policy can be written to provide excess coverage over an underlying primary automobile liability, employer’s liability and foreign general liability coverages.    Limits can be deployed anywhere within a tower.

We have the ability to offer these products in both the U.S. and Canada to service insureds domiciled in either country or to provide local coverage for insureds with transborder exposures.

Maximum coverage:

General Liability and Environmental Exposure:

• $2,000,000 per Occurrence
• $4,000,000 General Aggregate
• $4,000,000 Products / Completed Operation Aggregate

Commercial Environmental Excess Follow Form

• $25,000,000 Policy Aggregate Limit of Liability

Minimum coverage

General Liability and Environmental Exposure (GLEE) – Primary

• $10,000 (GLEE-Services)/$15,000 (GLEE-Facilities) minimum premium

Commercial Environmental Excess Follow Form

• $10,000 minimum premium

Product Coverage:

Environmental Legal Liability (ELL)

Aspen Environmental can offer an insurance program providing bodily injury, property damage and clean-up costs resulting from a release of pollutants from, at, under, or migrating through or from real property owned, managed by, leased or rented to the insured.

Coverage can be offered for an insured’s single location or on a portfolio basis. Multi-year policies are available, up to five years. Multiple coverage parts allow for unique customization, including coverage for transportation pollution, business interruption, contractors’ liability and products pollution.  Coverage includes restoration costs (including) green-up costs, separate limit for emergency response and crisis management.

Aspen has a broad risk appetite for our ELL product, including manufacturing, commercial and residential real estate, hotels and hospitality, public entities and energy related accounts.

This policy can be offered on a global basis and limits can be deployed on a primary or excess basis.

Maximum coverage

• $25,000,000 Pollution Incident Limit of Liability
• $25,000,000 Aggregate Limit of Liability

Minimum coverage

• $5,000 minimum premium

Product Coverage:

Contractors Pollution Policy (CPP)

The Aspen Contractors Pollution Policy provides broad environmental insurance coverage that addresses contractors’ environmental risks and exposures, including coverage gaps left by standard general liability policies. We can offer both practice or project specific (including owner-controlled and contractor-controlled) programs.

This policy can be offered on a global basis.

Maximum coverage:

• $25,000,000 Pollution Incident Limit of Liability
• $25,00,000 Aggregate Limit of Liability

Minimum coverage:

• $5,000 minimum premium

Product Coverage:

Contractors Professional, Protective and Pollution Policy (CP3)

Aspen Environmental can provide professional liability coverage through the Contractors Professional Protective Pollution Policy (CP3) (or as a dedicated coverage part within our General Liability and Environmental Exposure (GLEE) policy).

Professional liability coverage is provided for losses arising from wrongful acts as a result of the insured’s professional services conducted for a third party. In both products, professional coverage can be considered for environmental consultants, contractors or laboratories, or those applicants with at least 35% of revenues associated with environmental services. Within the CP3 product, professional coverage can be considered for non-environmental contractors with minimal design/build or engineering services.

Maximum coverage:

Contractors Professional Protective Pollution Policy

• $25,000,000 Pollution Incident Limit of Liability
• $25,00,000 Aggregate Limit of Liability

Minimum coverage:

• Contractors Professional Protective Pollution Policy
  $7,500 minimum premium

Product Coverage:

Aspen Environmental can provide Transportation Pollution Liability (TPL) on a standalone basis via our Contractors Pollution or Environmental Legal Liability forms.

TPL can be used as a primary mechanism, or on an excess/difference in coverage basis (in conjunction with the CA9948 Endorsement included on an Auto Liability Policy).  Aspen has a broad appetite and can consider a wide array of TPL exposures including petroleum, hazardous waste and other hazardous material haulers.

This policy can be offered on a global basis.

Maximum coverage:

• $25,000,000 Pollution Incident Limit of Liability
• $25,00,000 Aggregate Limit of Liability

Minimum coverage:

• $5,000 minimum premium

Product Coverage:

Aspen Environmental can provide products pollution coverage as a stand-alone option or as part of broader Environmental Impairment Liability policy. Coverage for products pollution liability includes coverage for a pollution incident arising out of the end use of the insured’s products (after relinquishment of their possession of such product). Products installed as part of covered operations within Aspen’s CPL or CP3 policies are automatically covered for products pollution liability.

Separate, standalone coverage parts can be selected when an insured seeks to add this coverage to a broader program within the GLEE and ELL policies.  Coverage is offered on a claims made basis.  Aspen has a broad appetite for products pollution and has the ability to consider a wide array of products within market.

This policy can be offered on a global basis.

Maximum coverage:

• $25,000,000 Pollution Incident Limit of Liability
• $25,00,000 Aggregate Limit of Liability

Minimum coverage:

$5,000 minimum premium (on stand-alone basis)

Product Coverage:

Aspen Environmental offers a dedicated Storage Tank Liability used to provide coverage for releases from regulated or unregulated underground or aboveground storage tanks.

The policy is mainly used by our insured’s to satisfy United States Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) rules and regulations pertaining to regulated underground storage tanks, which in part, requires owners and operators of underground storage tanks to demonstrate financial responsibility for bodily injury, property damage and corrective action (clean-up) resulting from a release of pollutants from a storage tank.

Coverage can include an optional coverage part to provide limited 1st Party clean-up for pollution incidents not related to a storage tank system.  Coverage for single-location/single tank or multi-location/multi-storage tank system portfolios.  Defense costs  : subject to a separate limit, in addition to the Limit of Liability.

Coverage provided with the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico (admitted basis).

Maximum coverage:

• $25,000,000 Pollution Incident Limit of Liability
• $25,00,000 Aggregate Limit of Liability

Minimum coverage:

• $2,000 minimum premium