1

MORE INSURANCE EXPERTISE

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPAIRMENT LIABILITY PROTECTION

THERE’S A WORLD OF RISK OUT THERE –PROTECT YOURSELF FROM IT

•SOIL POLLUTION

•AIR POLLUTION

•WATER POLLUTION

•OFFENSIVE ODOUR

•NOISE POLLUTION

•DAMAGE TO NATURAL RESOURCES

IN MORE PLACES

2

TRUST TOWERGATE INSURANCE TO SAFEGUARD YOUR ENTERPRISE

Towergate Insurance Brokers is strongly committed to protecting clients from environmental risks. There is no substitute for experience and Towergate Insurance Brokers has earned a reputation for responsiveness, innovation, broking excellence and timely delivery of risk management programmes.

We help clients identify and assess their environmental exposures and then deliver customised solutions that complement their commercial objectives and risk management strategy.

Our advisors can help protect your business in the following ways:

• Identifying and analysing your environmental risks and potential liabilities

• Designing and delivering cost effective risk management programmes to address

operational exposures, including known, unknown, legacy or future environmental issues

• Reducing the uncertainty that is often associated with compiling financial reports that relate to the disclosure of environmental liabilities

• Developing programmes to address the environmental risks associated with transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, land transfers and development projects

With relatively straightforward underwriting requirements, highly flexible products and realistic yet competitive pricing, there is no reason in today’s market to risk having an uninsured environmental loss.

3

POLLUTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE

A potential hazard to the health of your business

Environmental issues are a hot topic. The Environmental Liability Directive (ELD) came into force throughout the EU in 2007 and became law in the UK on 1st March 2009 as the Environmental Damage Regulations (EDR). New liabilities beyond clean-up could spell the end of many businesses in the event of an uninsured loss.

There’s never been a better time to consider how your business would cope if you suddenly had to respond to claims that your company’s activities, or even just its premises and land under its control, had somehow caused pollution or other environmental damage.

Particularly as the directive is comprised of two new liability criteria, not usually covered in the UK by a standard liability insurance policy. Namely:

• Strict liability for specified environmentally hazardous activities

• Fault-based liability for all other business activities.

The EDR introduced three new sanctions that took environmental liability to a new level:

A Preventative Remediation: action to avoid environmental loss

B Complimentary Remediation: other action beyond clean-up to restore damage

C Compensatory Remediation: additional works beyond Complimentary Remediation in more serious cases that can extend to include restoration of another site.

The business interruption and cost implications almost don’t bear thinking about. Except, of course, in this instance they really must.

Are you sitting on a time bomb?

Slow, but deadly… unforeseen and unexpected pollution, gradually building up on land or seeping into the water table over time, could impact your business when you

least expect it, leaving you with a sizeable bill for the clean-up and potentially additional works to ‘make good’ on the damage done – a process that could take years.

Historical Liability

Pollution or environmental damage that has happened in the past (whether it was 100 years or 6 months ago) has the potential to create liabilities today.

Even though the current owner of a property may not have caused this damage, they could still be held liable for it. Fines often exceed several million pounds and lead to lengthy delays a return to production.

With over 300,000 brownfield sites in England alone, historic liabilities should be considered for every property and corporate transaction and be covered by the appropriate insurance.

4

THE CONSEQUENCES CAN BE COSTLY

As we have already highlighted, the chances of your current, traditional property and liability insurance protecting you against the ramifications of a pollution incident are very low.

Then there is the broad range of environmental exposures that can impact air – consider ongoing odour issues – water, land and biodiversity and go on to impact your bottom line.

The most common consequences of an Environmental Impairment Liability event are:

• Business interruption – loss of profit and rental income

• Statutory liabilities – first party clean-up costs

• Third party clean-up costs – biodiversity damage

• Tort Liabilities – bodily injury; property damage; trespass, nuisance or obstruction

• Legal costs

• Damage to your commercial reputation and standing in your local community.

Naturally, these are outcomes we know you would rather avoid and our market-leading EIL insurance policies can help ensure that is the case.

Here’s why it pays to review the possible gaps in your existing cover

5

THE FORECAST IS BLEAK

Where there’s smoke there’s fire

Fire is emerging as a key trigger for uninsured environmental loss. Every business insures against fire damage to their own, and their neighbours’, property via Property and Public Liability insurance. However, many fail to realise that legal liabilities for damage to the wider environment, including surface and groundwater

resources and wildlife calls for additional protection of balance sheets and reputations. For example, a fire at a chemical factory in 2010 resulted in £6m damage and a £300,000 pollution clean-up bill. Fire and Public Liability does not cover such consequences.

6

TWO POLICIES TO CONSIDER

• Environmental Impairment Liability Protection: EIL Protection: options are available for lower risks

• Contractors Pollution Liability: CPL

Benefit from our enormous buying power

• Formed in 1997, Towergate Insurance has grown rapidly to become Europe’s largest, independently owned intermediary for commercial and specialist personal insurances

• We have long-standing relationships with leading UK insurers

• Our team of experts will visit you at your premises to understand your requirements and provide support on complex risks

• Benefit from our experience, specialist sector knowhow and access to specialist legal expertise

• No contingency fees for quotations

• A professional, UK-based 24/7, 365 day claims service

Each policy is tailored to match your specific requirements

Plus! Competitive features that make your business life easier

Talk to the team at Towergate to arrange a free consultation.

7

Experience backed by specialist expertise – meet David Brierley

To better assist our clients, David Brierley joined Towergate as Environmental Practice Leader in January 2016, having spent 15 years in this specialist sector. EIL insurers have recently confirmed that he is one of the foremost experts in the field based outside London, which was acknowledged by the Law Society in their guide to EIL, published in 2005.

For further information, please call David on 07980 823917 or contact him via email: david.brierley@towergate.co.uk

Towergate Insurance Brokers and Towergate are trading names of Towergate Underwriting Group Limited. Registered in England No.4043759. Registered Address: 2 Minster Court, Mincing Lane, London EC3R 7PD. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

MORE EXPERTISE IN MORE PLACES

towergateinsurance.co.uk