Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurers’ Annual Incurred A&E Losses Rose 12% in 2012: A.M. Best
Nov 6 2013 // While generally not a material drag on the U.S. property/casualty industry’s earnings, industry losses from asbestos and environmental (A&E) claims resumed an upward climb in 2012, according to a new A.M. Best...
Hubbard Joins Towerstone to Lead New Environmental Practice
Nov 6 2013 // Wholesale insurance broker and managing general agency, Towerstone, announced that Jeffrey Hubbard has joined the company as director of its new environmental practice in Dallas. Hubbard brings more than 20 years of...
Lost Pheasants, Disappearing Grasslands: Is Crop Insurance to Blame?
Nov 1 2013 // The hunters tramp through neck-high prairie grass with a pair of golden retrievers named Moe and Buck, flushing out birds in a freezing autumn drizzle. When one flutters from the South Dakota grassland, Dick Schmith, 58,...
Oklahoma City Firm to Receive $113M Insurance Payment from Blast
Oct 28 2013 // Oklahoma City-based LSB Industries Inc. will get a $113 million insurance payment after a May 2012 explosion damaged one of its chemical plants in south Arkansas. No one was injured in the blast at the El Dorado Chemical...
Verisk Climate, HSB Launch Service to Assess Electrical Blackout Risk
Oct 24 2013 // Verisk Climate and The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Co. (HSB) have introduced new technology and consulting services that help insurers and businesses predict the likelihood, severity, and financial...
Settlement Reached in Vermont Asbestos Mine Cleanup
Oct 21 2013 // A settlement has been reached with the owner of a former asbestos mine in northern Vermont to help cover the costs of some pollution controls. Vermont Asbestos Group also has agreed to pursue $3.5 million in insurance...
The Robots Are Coming!
Oct 21 2013 // Robots of the future could improve business efficiencies, but companies must implement risk management beyond legal requirements to minimize accidents and damage to their reputation. In recent years, robotics applications...
XL Group’s Insurance Operations Grow in Dallas
Oct 17 2013 // XL Group announced an expansion of its insurance operations in Dallas. The company’s U.S. Risk Management business is setting up operations in Dallas and welcoming Gabriel Martinez as casualty underwriting director....
AIG Launches Product Recall Estimate Service, Raises Contaminated Product Limits
Oct 16 2013 // In response to the growing financial impact and frequency of product recalls for food and beverage manufacturers, distributors and importers in the U.S. and Europe, American International Group (AIG) today launched NOVI, a...
Icebergs, Insurance Hamper Top of the World Shipping Route
Oct 16 2013 // The new shipping route opened up through the Arctic by climate change will not be crowded any time soon. Cargoes of coal, diesel and gas have made the trip but high insurance costs, slow going and strict environmental...
Feds Seek Stay in Lawsuit over Exxon Arkansas Oil Spill
Oct 11 2013 // Federal prosecutors in Arkansas asked a judge to stay proceedings in their lawsuit against ExxonMobil Pipeline Co. because of the federal government shutdown. The U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Chris...
Environmental Group Slams Federal Crop Insurance ‘Windfall’ Option
Oct 11 2013 // An insurance provision in the U.S. farm bills proposed by the House and Senate could have corn, soybean, and wheat farmers making more money in a bad year, such as during a drought, than in a good year, an environmental...
Shutdown Sidelines Safety Inspectors of Workplaces, Mines, Nursing Homes and More
Oct 9 2013 // The partial shutdown of the U.S. government has sidelined thousands of inspectors who monitor everything from air and water pollution to safety hazards at factories and the condition of nursing homes. Federal law requires...
LIU, PGI Commercial Partner to Offer Environmental Coverage
Oct 9 2013 // Liberty International Underwriters (LIU) has partnered with program administrator PGI Commercial to offer LIU Environmental coverages under a new program administrator agreement. PGI Commercial’s clients now have...
ACE Names Givelet to Lead European Environmental Risk Engineering Group
Oct 7 2013 // ACE Group has appointed Nicolas Givelet as risk engineer in its Continental Europe environmental insurance team. In this newly-created role, Givelet will lead a new environmental risk engineering task force for ACE in the...
Insurers: Product Recalls a ‘Death Sentence’ to Food Manufacturers, Coverage Demand Still Lags
Oct 7 2013 // Food recalls are on the rise, but that isn’t necessarily because food manufacturers are not meeting safety requirements and more food is contaminated or unsafe. In fact, insurers in the product recall space who...
Montana Residents Suing Over Petroleum Pollution
Oct 7 2013 // Nearly 50 Cut Bank residents have filed a lawsuit alleging their properties have been polluted by petroleum from a crude oil transportation and storage facility on the eastern edge of the city. The Great Falls Tribune...
Energy Industry Liability May Cover Contamination Claims from Colorado Flooding
Oct 7 2013 // Colorado residents and businesses face devastating water inundation that many are dubbing a one-in-500-years weather event. Nearly 2,400 square miles were saturated with water causing massive dislocation and loss of life....
Is There Coverage for Losses Stemming From Government Shutdown or Default?
Oct 4 2013 // At the time of this writing, the federal government is in a partial shutdown. Essential functions are operating, but certain areas such as national parks are completely closed. While this partial shutdown does not threaten...
Industry Pioneer Catlin on Insurance and Environmental Concerns
Sep 27 2013 // Stephen J.O. Catlin has led the company/group that bears his name since 1984. He’s seen it grow into the biggest syndicate at Lloyd’s with gross premiums written of $5.5 billion. He was the first to move the...
