View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2010/07/26/111884.htm

Navigators Environmental Expands Coverage for New Contractor Risks

The Navigators Group, Inc.’s principal underwriting agency subsidiary, Navigators Management Co., Inc., has introduced the Contractor’s Environmental Risk Management (ERM) Toolkit II (“Toolkit II”), an enhanced suite of environmental liability coverage tailored specifically for contractors and consultants.

The Contractor’s Toolkit II policy is an insurance solution designed to broadly protect contractors from new and emerging environmental risks such as a new U.S. EPA regulation mandating lead-safe construction practices. The Contractor’s Toolkit II policy also provides protection against the risks and uncertainties arising from how some courts might apply the pollution exclusion in the CGL policies. For example, in contrast to decisions of other courts, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently found that claims involving dust and fumes on the jobsite were excluded by the CGL pollution exclusion.

“Today’s contractors work in a regulatory environment that is dynamic and changing on a daily basis,” said Adrien Robinson, vice president of the Environmental division at Navigators. “We’re constantly assessing emerging environmental exposures facing our insured contractors so the agents we work with and their insured clients don’t have to. They rely on us to offer broad protection, and it surprises me that we continue to see litigation over the pollution exclusion in the CGL policy when robust environmental liability coverage has never been easier or more affordable to obtain.”

The new occurrence-based Contractor’s Toolkit II offers many enhanced and expanded coverages, including, but not limited to, the following key highlights:

• The definition of a “pollution incident” now includes mold, legionella pneumophila, silt and sedimentation, bacteria and viruses, and midnight dumping at a jobsite.
• There is no professional liability exclusion (i.e. testing of paints necessary to comply with US EPA’s lead-safe construction rule).
• Defense costs are provided outside the policy limits.
• Coverage for transported cargo and misdelivery of liquids.
• Broad coverage for waste disposal sites including an insured’s liability for “threatened releases.”
• Integrated environmental crisis management fund to assist the insured with managing the media and image restoration as a result an environmental crisis.

The Contractor’s Toolkit II policy complements the existing suite of coverages available through Navigators Environmental. In addition to the Toolkit II policy, Navigators Environmental offers site-specific pollution liability, professional liability for environmental contractors, excess environmental, and integrated general liability, pollution, and excess coverage for a wide spectrum of manufacturers and distributors.

The Contractor’s Toolkit II policy is underwritten for U.S.-based companies by Navigators Insurance Co. and Navigators Specialty Insurance Co.

Source: Navigators