Tag: Liability

  • Lawsuits filed for contamination after Hurricane Harvey

    Each year, the losses from Natural Disasters continue to rise.  In correlation, we are seeing a rise in the number of lawsuits for environmental liabilities caused by Natural Disasters.  For businesses located in areas impacted by Natural Disasters, part of “Best Practices” is having a financial assurance strategy in place.

    As ERMI has coached in the past, Natural Disaster Seasons (NDS, i.e. Flooding, Tornados, Forest Fires, Hurricanes…) are a great time to talk pollution.  Did you know most pollution policies do not exclude Acts of God.  Pollution policies can cover first party business income, loss of rents and much more.

    http://abc13.com/liberty-county-sues-arkema-plant-owners-for-$1m-/3206668/

  • TEAMing with Bankers to Drive Insurance Sales

    For decades, Bankers have utilized environmental indemnifications in their loan documents as protection from environmental liabilities. Then in the mid 1990’s Phase I / II… environmental site assessments were added as another layer of defense for a Bankers lender liability exposure on real estate transactions.

    In basic terms, environmental indemnifications and Phase I’s have been used as a way for all concerned parties to feel content with addressing potential environmental exposures on financial transactions.

    Today, we know the problems created by this mindset and the fact that environmental indemnifications and Phase I’s are a very cursory way of addressing environmental exposures. Especially when you consider that environmental liabilities tend to be a severity vs frequency issue.

    As countless Banks have experienced, when it comes to environmental liabilities, a client’s environmental problem can become the Banks problem. That’s why it’s crucial for banks to have a financial assurance mechanism (Bond, Letter of Credit, Environmental Insurance, Monies in Escrow…) in place to backstop the inability of a borrower to meet environmental indemnifications.


    Environmental financial assurance mechanisms also help to reduce the reputational risk associated with environmental liabilities for Banks.
    When it comes to environmental liability insurance as a financial assurance mechanism, three often overlooked benefits offered in environmental liability insurance policies are:
    1. Defense Costs: Environmental liabilities are relatively new and very litigious. Even if you do nothing wrong, you can still get named in a suit and must expense legal fees. Environmental insurance policies cover defense costs.
    2. Claim Management: All policies come with specialists to assist you in handling a claim. Who is in charge of communications, public relations, emergency response, government compliance, financial management, third party claims for bodily injury, property damage, natural resource damages….?
    3. Third Party Liabilities: The majority of the time the cost to clean up the environmental problem/s is far less than the associated claims that come in from third parties for bodily injury, property damage and business interruption.

    Environmental Coaching Guide for Bank Professionals

    1. Bankers must first understand what a “Pollutant” is? If you look at a loan document, they generally describe a Pollutant as smoke, vapors, soot, fumes, acids…. However, due to the way our courts and insurance companies have responded to lawsuits and insurance claims, environmental Strategist® (eS) has developed the following simplified definition: a “Pollutant” is a material, substance or product that gets introduced to an environment for other than its intended use or purpose.” In other words, something that ends up where it does not belong can be a Pollutant. eS have examples where fresh water, milk, cheese, fruit, beer and more have all been defined as a “Pollutant”.
    2. Every commercial client a Bank works with is impacted by environmental exposures. What is their financial assurance mechanism?
    3. eS research has determined that fewer than 50% of Phase I Site Assessments are accurate. Also, environmental due diligence (Phase I, Phase II…) as part of meeting the innocent landowner or lender liability defense only protects the real estate owner or bank from the government. Impacted non-governmental third parties can still file suit.
    4. Banks, besides being cognizant of the environmental exposures impacting their collateralized properties, need to consider neighbors of collateralized properties. When a Phase I Site Assessment is conducted to investigate who neighbors are that could have contamination going onto a subject property, environmental engineers do a minimum of a 2-mile radius search. Third party contamination coming onto a bank collateralized property could impede the property owner’s ability to service their loan. Under Federal law the property owner is ultimately responsible for the environmental condition of their property regardless of who caused the contamination. Environmental insurance policies can protect property owners if third party contamination comes onto their property.
    5. What about bank loans for client’s that lease / rent their facility to third parties? Lease / rental agreements contain “environmental indemnifications”. What if a tenant experiences an environmental liability in the facility or a third-party vendor (HVAC contractor, Repairman, Landscapers…) contaminates the facility? Without a financial assurance mechanism in place, contracts that contain environmental indemnifications may not be worth the paper there written on.
    6. Additional environmental exposures impacting bank loans may include but are not limited to: Vapor intrusion, Storm water runoff, Natural resource damages, Easements that cross collateralized property, New construction & remodeling on collateralized properties, Sick building syndrome, Mold, Legionella….

    Bankers not proactively addressing environmental exposures may find their profits at risk when a borrower discovers they have an environmental liability. Coaching up Bankers how pollution insurance can protect them from the gaps created by environmental indemnifications in contracts and site assessments will drive the sales of your insurance products.

    Environmental Liability Insurance Coverages for Banks to Consider
    Simply due to their business model, every Bank is impacted by environmental exposures. Therefore, consideration needs to be given to the economies of scale afforded with environmental liability insurance versus self-insuring.

    Environmental Impairment Liability (EIL)

    EIL is for Banks susceptible to economic loss caused by pollution that actually or allegedly originated from owned or collateralized properties. Sometimes referred to as Pollution Legal Liability (PLL), this coverage is for those who own, operate, lease, or have any other insurable interest in real property and/or the operations. Coverage can be written in a variety of ways addressing unknown preexisting conditions or new conditions. Coverage can include third party bodily injury and property damage along with business interruption and extra expense, on and off-site cleanup costs, legal defense expenses, non-owned disposal sites, transportation and more. EIL can be offered on multiyear terms. Most EIL policies cover above ground storage tanks up to a certain size. You can cover multiple locations on a single policy.

    Lender Liability Coverage (LLC) / Secured Creditor Coverage

    As so many Banks have learned, when it comes to environmental liabilities, a client’s environmental problem can become the Banks problem.
    To address the potential environmental liabilities faced by a Bank’s operations, there is a risk transfer product called Lender Liability Coverage (LLC). LLC enables Banks to shield assets by protecting collateral and insuring for environmental liabilities arising from collateral properties. LLC fills gaps created by traditional environmental indemnifications, due diligence….

    LLC provides collateral value protection in the event of a loan default and a newly discovered pollution event at the covered location/s. When this occurs, LLC can pay the lesser of the outstanding loan balance and extra expenses or the estimated cleanup costs. LLC can be used on a single transaction or on a portfolio basis. Coverage is offered on multiyear policies that can run up to the term to maturity of the insured loan. LLC offers the ability to assign interest to a successor lien holder. LLC allows Banks to be more competitive on loans they would once be forced to pass-up due to environmental uncertainties.

    Property Transfer Coverage

    When buying or selling property there can be unknown preexisting environmental conditions. Since environmental due diligence (Phase I, Phase II…), cannot guarantee uncovering all potential environmental liabilities, insurance companies have created property transfer insurance. This coverage protects the new owner or any party with an insurable interest, against unknown environmental conditions that may be discovered during the policy period, that were not caused by the new owner.
    This coverage not only helps to keep the property at its maximum value, it will assist the purchaser in being able to secure the necessary financing to complete their transaction. You can cover multiple locations on a single policy.

    Mergers, Acquisitions & Pollution Protection (MAPP)
    Key to any acquisition is the correct valuation and effective due diligence and MAPP operates as a backstop against issues due diligence or valuation processes may not be able to identify.
    As a financial assurance mechanism for M&A’s, pollution liability insurance has become part of “Best Practices”. Representation & Warranties (R&W) insurance is proving its value for M&A’s much the same as pollution liability insurance has.
    R&W insurance is designed expressly to provide insurance coverage for the breach of a representation or a warranty contained in a Buy / Sell Agreement, in addition to or as a replacement for all or most of the seller’s contractual representations and warranties.
    MAPP delivers a cost-effective way to transfer R&W and pollution liabilities to a financially stable third party.

    Brownfield Redevelopment Insurance

    Today, more than ever, Federal, State and local governments are creating incentives for redevelopment of Brownfield sites. These are properties that due to actual or perceived contamination are sitting idle or underutilized. Through Brownfield redevelopment these properties can be cleaned up and put back on the tax rolls.
    The basic purpose of this insurance is to protect the owners, purchaser or investors against known or unknown environmental conditions. Brownfield redevelopment insurance can be structured in a variety of ways. Besides the financial assurance mechanism, contractor’s pollution liability, transportation, off-site disposal, cost cap insurance, post remediation coverage and much more can be addressed. The important thing to remember about Brownfield redevelopment coverage is that it is customized for each project.

    eS Financial Assurance Strategy for Banks: Fire Insurance policies are required by Banks that hold mortgages on properties to protect their collateral from a loss due to fire. What happens after a fire? The water and chemicals used by the fire department along with charred, toxic remnants of real and personal property can create environmental liabilities. The fire department is immune from prosecution. Under Federal law the property owner is ultimately responsible for the environmental condition of their property and fire insurance policies offer negligible limits to address cleanup. Insureds that purchase fire insurance policies need a financial assurance mechanism to address the environmental liabilities created by a fire and pollution insurance is designed to fill this critical gap.

  • TEAMing with Bankers to Drive Insurance Sales

    For decades, Bankers have utilized environmental indemnifications in their loan documents as protection from environmental liabilities. Then in the mid 1990’s Phase I / II… environmental site assessments were added as another layer of defense for a Bankers lender liability exposure on real estate transactions.

    In basic terms, environmental indemnifications and Phase I’s have been used as a way for all concerned parties to feel content with addressing potential environmental exposures on financial transactions.

    Today, we know the problems created by this mindset and the fact that environmental indemnifications and Phase I’s are a very cursory way of addressing environmental exposures. Especially when you consider that environmental liabilities tend to be a severity vs frequency issue.

    As countless Banks have experienced, when it comes to environmental liabilities, a client’s environmental problem can become the Banks problem. That’s why it’s crucial for banks to have a financial assurance mechanism (Bond, Letter of Credit, Environmental Insurance, Monies in Escrow…) in place to backstop the inability of a borrower to meet environmental indemnifications.

    Environmental financial assurance mechanisms also help to reduce the reputational risk associated with environmental liabilities for Banks.
    When it comes to environmental liability insurance as a financial assurance mechanism, three often overlooked benefits offered in environmental liability insurance policies are:
    1. Defense Costs: Environmental liabilities are relatively new and very litigious. Even if you do nothing wrong, you can still get named in a suit and must expense legal fees. Environmental insurance policies cover defense costs.
    2. Claim Management: All policies come with specialists to assist you in handling a claim. Who is in charge of communications, public relations, emergency response, government compliance, financial management, third party claims for bodily injury, property damage, natural resource damages….?
    3. Third Party Liabilities: The majority of the time the cost to clean up the environmental problem/s is far less than the associated claims that come in from third parties for bodily injury, property damage and business interruption.

    Environmental Coaching Guide for Bank Professionals

    1. Bankers must first understand what a “Pollutant” is? If you look at a loan document, they generally describe a Pollutant as smoke, vapors, soot, fumes, acids…. However, due to the way our courts and insurance companies have responded to lawsuits and insurance claims, environmental Strategist® (eS) has developed the following simplified definition: a “Pollutant” is a material, substance or product that gets introduced to an environment for other than its intended use or purpose.” In other words, something that ends up where it does not belong can be a Pollutant. eS have examples where fresh water, milk, cheese, fruit, beer and more have all been defined as a “Pollutant”.
    2. Every commercial client a Bank works with is impacted by environmental exposures. What is their financial assurance mechanism?
    3. eS research has determined that fewer than 50% of Phase I Site Assessments are accurate. Also, environmental due diligence (Phase I, Phase II…) as part of meeting the innocent landowner or lender liability defense only protects the real estate owner or bank from the government. Impacted non-governmental third parties can still file suit.
    4. Banks, besides being cognizant of the environmental exposures impacting their collateralized properties, need to consider neighbors of collateralized properties. When a Phase I Site Assessment is conducted to investigate who neighbors are that could have contamination going onto a subject property, environmental engineers do a minimum of a 2-mile radius search. Third party contamination coming onto a bank collateralized property could impede the property owner’s ability to service their loan. Under Federal law the property owner is ultimately responsible for the environmental condition of their property regardless of who caused the contamination. Environmental insurance policies can protect property owners if third party contamination comes onto their property.
    5. What about bank loans for client’s that lease / rent their facility to third parties? Lease / rental agreements contain “environmental indemnifications”. What if a tenant experiences an environmental liability in the facility or a third-party vendor (HVAC contractor, Repairman, Landscapers…) contaminates the facility? Without a financial assurance mechanism in place, contracts that contain environmental indemnifications may not be worth the paper there written on.
    6. Additional environmental exposures impacting bank loans may include but are not limited to: Vapor intrusion, Storm water runoff, Natural resource damages, Easements that cross collateralized property, New construction & remodeling on collateralized properties, Sick building syndrome, Mold, Legionella….

    Bankers not proactively addressing environmental exposures may find their profits at risk when a borrower discovers they have an environmental liability. Coaching up Bankers how pollution insurance can protect them from the gaps created by environmental indemnifications in contracts and site assessments will drive the sales of your insurance products.

    Environmental Liability Insurance Coverages for Banks to Consider
    Simply due to their business model, every Bank is impacted by environmental exposures. Therefore, consideration needs to be given to the economies of scale afforded with environmental liability insurance versus self-insuring.

    Environmental Impairment Liability (EIL)

    EIL is for Banks susceptible to economic loss caused by pollution that actually or allegedly originated from owned or collateralized properties. Sometimes referred to as Pollution Legal Liability (PLL), this coverage is for those who own, operate, lease, or have any other insurable interest in real property and/or the operations. Coverage can be written in a variety of ways addressing unknown preexisting conditions or new conditions. Coverage can include third party bodily injury and property damage along with business interruption and extra expense, on and off-site cleanup costs, legal defense expenses, non-owned disposal sites, transportation and more. EIL can be offered on multiyear terms. Most EIL policies cover above ground storage tanks up to a certain size. You can cover multiple locations on a single policy.

    Lender Liability Coverage (LLC) / Secured Creditor Coverage

    As so many Banks have learned, when it comes to environmental liabilities, a client’s environmental problem can become the Banks problem.
    To address the potential environmental liabilities faced by a Bank’s operations, there is a risk transfer product called Lender Liability Coverage (LLC). LLC enables Banks to shield assets by protecting collateral and insuring for environmental liabilities arising from collateral properties. LLC fills gaps created by traditional environmental indemnifications, due diligence….

    LLC provides collateral value protection in the event of a loan default and a newly discovered pollution event at the covered location/s. When this occurs, LLC can pay the lesser of the outstanding loan balance and extra expenses or the estimated cleanup costs. LLC can be used on a single transaction or on a portfolio basis. Coverage is offered on multiyear policies that can run up to the term to maturity of the insured loan. LLC offers the ability to assign interest to a successor lien holder. LLC allows Banks to be more competitive on loans they would once be forced to pass-up due to environmental uncertainties.

    Property Transfer Coverage

    When buying or selling property there can be unknown preexisting environmental conditions. Since environmental due diligence (Phase I, Phase II…), cannot guarantee uncovering all potential environmental liabilities, insurance companies have created property transfer insurance. This coverage protects the new owner or any party with an insurable interest, against unknown environmental conditions that may be discovered during the policy period, that were not caused by the new owner.
    This coverage not only helps to keep the property at its maximum value, it will assist the purchaser in being able to secure the necessary financing to complete their transaction. You can cover multiple locations on a single policy.

    Mergers, Acquisitions & Pollution Protection (MAPP)
    Key to any acquisition is the correct valuation and effective due diligence and MAPP operates as a backstop against issues due diligence or valuation processes may not be able to identify.
    As a financial assurance mechanism for M&A’s, pollution liability insurance has become part of “Best Practices”. Representation & Warranties (R&W) insurance is proving its value for M&A’s much the same as pollution liability insurance has.
    R&W insurance is designed expressly to provide insurance coverage for the breach of a representation or a warranty contained in a Buy / Sell Agreement, in addition to or as a replacement for all or most of the seller’s contractual representations and warranties.
    MAPP delivers a cost-effective way to transfer R&W and pollution liabilities to a financially stable third party.

    Brownfield Redevelopment Insurance

    Today, more than ever, Federal, State and local governments are creating incentives for redevelopment of Brownfield sites. These are properties that due to actual or perceived contamination are sitting idle or underutilized. Through Brownfield redevelopment these properties can be cleaned up and put back on the tax rolls.
    The basic purpose of this insurance is to protect the owners, purchaser or investors against known or unknown environmental conditions. Brownfield redevelopment insurance can be structured in a variety of ways. Besides the financial assurance mechanism, contractor’s pollution liability, transportation, off-site disposal, cost cap insurance, post remediation coverage and much more can be addressed. The important thing to remember about Brownfield redevelopment coverage is that it is customized for each project.

    eS Financial Assurance Strategy for Banks: Fire Insurance policies are required by Banks that hold mortgages on properties to protect their collateral from a loss due to fire. What happens after a fire? The water and chemicals used by the fire department along with charred, toxic remnants of real and personal property can create environmental liabilities. The fire department is immune from prosecution. Under Federal law the property owner is ultimately responsible for the environmental condition of their property and fire insurance policies offer negligible limits to address cleanup. Insureds that purchase fire insurance policies need a financial assurance mechanism to address the environmental liabilities created by a fire and pollution insurance is designed to fill this critical gap.

  • City Sues Firefighter Foam Makers Over Water Contamination

    environmental Strategist, between the lines:  In a past article, “Must Read For Insurance Professionals That Sell Commercial Fire Insurance Policies,” I strategize why insureds need a financial assurance plan before a fire occurs to address environmental liabilities caused by fires.   After a fire occurs, insured’s need monies to address the contamination left behind by the firefighters in putting out the fire along with charred, toxic remnants of real and personal property.

    Fire policies generally offer a token amount to address clean up after a fire.  The cleanup limit offered in a fire policy is substandard because the insurance carrier does not want to foot the bill for pollution liabilities that result due to a fire.  Environmental insurance plays a critical role in filling in this coverage gap created by fire policies.

    Offering substandard cleanup limits is the same strategy executed by standard property & casualty insurance carriers who offer “limited pollution coverage”.  The term “limited pollution coverage” is an oxymoron because the “limited pollution coverage”, limits the insurance carrier’s exposure to paying for a pollution claim and has a very tight window to discover and report a pollution claim for coverage to be in force.

    As the article below points out, adding fuel to the fire (pun intended), 3M, a manufacturer of firefighting foam is being sued because the suit claims, “the foam chemicals are persistent when released into the environment and harmful.”

    So if the lawsuit turns out to be true, firefighters are using known contaminants to put out a fire and yet fire departments are immune from environmental liabilities in the course of putting out a fire.

    What is your insured’s financial assurance strategy to address environmental liabilities after a fire?

    Fill out the attached application and ERMI will negotiate for environmental insurance to fill in the coverage gap for your insureds you sell fire policies to.

    https://whdh.com/news/city-suing-fighter-foam-makers-over-water-contamination/

  • City Sues Firefighter Foam Makers Over Water Contamination

    environmental Strategist, between the lines:  In a past article, “Must Read For Insurance Professionals That Sell Commercial Fire Insurance Policies,” I strategize why insureds need a financial assurance plan before a fire occurs to address environmental liabilities caused by fires.   After a fire occurs, insured’s need monies to address the contamination left behind by the firefighters in putting out the fire along with charred, toxic remnants of real and personal property.

    Fire policies generally offer a token amount to address clean up after a fire.  The cleanup limit offered in a fire policy is substandard because the insurance carrier does not want to foot the bill for pollution liabilities that result due to a fire.  Environmental insurance plays a critical role in filling in this coverage gap created by fire policies.

    Offering substandard cleanup limits is the same strategy executed by standard property & casualty insurance carriers who offer “limited pollution coverage”.  The term “limited pollution coverage” is an oxymoron because the “limited pollution coverage”, limits the insurance carrier’s exposure to paying for a pollution claim and has a very tight window to discover and report a pollution claim for coverage to be in force.

    As the article below points out, adding fuel to the fire (pun intended), 3M, a manufacturer of firefighting foam is being sued because the suit claims, “the foam chemicals are persistent when released into the environment and harmful.”

    So if the lawsuit turns out to be true, firefighters are using known contaminants to put out a fire and yet fire departments are immune from environmental liabilities in the course of putting out a fire.

    What is your insured’s financial assurance strategy to address environmental liabilities after a fire?

    Fill out the attached application and ERMI will negotiate for environmental insurance to fill in the coverage gap for your insureds you sell fire policies to.

    https://whdh.com/news/city-suing-fighter-foam-makers-over-water-contamination/

  • TEAMing With “Business Professionals” To Generate Insurance Sales

    To assist you to grow your insurance sales, environmental Strategist® has developed this competitive environmental intelligence series on executing a TEAM SPORT strategy. 

    After more than 25 years of operating a specialty environmental insurance wholesale operation, I have observed one common denominator successful insurance professionals share, they are continually looking for new opportunities.

    Since every business is impacted by environmental exposures and fewer than 15% of licensed insurance professionals are actively selling environmental insurance products there is huge upside for insurance professionals looking for opportunities.

    environmental Strategist® has developed this five-part educational resource specifically for you to coach up “business professionals” (i.e. attorney’s, accountant’s, banker’s, realtor’s) on the value you can add to their business model.   Through this process “business professionals” will bring you insurance sales opportunities to make sure they are better protecting their E&O exposure while executing environmental “Best Practices” with their client’s.

    As a simple example let’s look at attorney’s that draw up contracts for real estate buy / sell agreements.  It’s hard to find a buy sell agreement that does not contain an environmental indemnification.  However, if a financial assurance mechanism (letter of credit, monies in escrow, insurance, bond…) is not put into place to back stop the environmental indemnification and there is a default, the contract may not be worth the paper it is written on.  This can create and E&O exposure for the attorney since the attorney put the environmental indemnification in the contract, billed their client, but did not back stop it by making sure a financial assurance mechanism was in place to support their contract.  Attorney’s clients have been coming back to their attorneys for the financial solution since the indemnifying party defaulted on the “attorney’s” contract.

    In Series One of our five part series, we are going to review why “business professionals” will bring you sales opportunities utilizing a TEAM SPORT strategy.

    eS TEAM SPORT Strategy:

    Every insurance professional knows referral business is an excellent source for new business sales.  An insurance professional can either ask for referral business or they can produce referral business while assisting “business professionals” to leverage their business model.  A Win / Win strategy and much more professional than asking for referrals to generate new business.

    Producing referral business creates a higher success rate than asking, while at the same time positioning the insurance professional as a trusted advisor and strategic partner.

    Let me digress, the only constant we have is change (opportunity).  The environmental industry has created change (opportunity) in the way businesses operate.  This also creates change (opportunity) for the way business professionals leverage their products or services to proactively address environmental exposures impacting their client’s / prospects.  By following the environmental Strategist® (eS) www.estrategist.com holistic TEAM SPORT strategy you move beyond asking for referral business to “business professionals” asking you to assist them in helping their clients.

    Fortunately, the complexities of addressing environmental issues means there is no one stop shop to be able to get all your answers.  Therefore, the success a business professional has in addressing environmental exposures impacting their client’s, depends upon the TEAM that business professional surrounds themselves with.

    environmental Strategist has branded this a TEAM SPORT strategy.  TEAM SPORT stands for Together Everyone Accomplishes More because Strategic Partners Optimize Resources and Time.

    Who are your TEAM members?

    To answer that, let’s look at what a typical environmentally reactive business does when they find out they have an environmental problem.  Keep in mind, since the business is reactive they are managing the environmental problem after it occurs.

    Probably the first business professional an environmentally reactive business will call is their attorney.  After they call their attorney, they will contact their insurance agent to see if they have any environmental insurance coverage.  When their insurance agent informs them, they do not have any coverage, the reactive business generally will call their attorney back to sue the insurance agent’s E&O.

    Since the environmentally reactive business is unknowingly self-insuring their environmental liabilities, they will need financial resources to correct the problem and pay legal fees, cleanup cost, third party bodily injury, third party property damage…, so they need to involve their financial institution.  However, most financial institutions, once they find out they have a client with an environmental problem, their strategy is to call all obligations due and sever the relationship.

    Since the reactive business has an environmental liability, they need to involve their accountant to accurately express their current financial position.

    If the business owns, buys, sells or manages property they will want an environmentally knowledgeable realtor as part of their TEAM.

    You include the businesses environmental services providers  (environmental engineers, remediation contractors, waste haulers, etc.), and some of the businesses employees.  This rounds out your typical eMS TEAM.

    In Series Two we will review TEAM SPORT strategies for working with attorney’s to generate insurance sales.

    environmental Strategist (eS) business leverage strategy:  In achieving your environmental Strategist (eS) certification @ www.estrategist.com you position yourself as the TEAM leader the other TEAM members report to.  The www.estrategist.com Collaboration Portal is designed to position the eS as the TEAM leader.  Each time you develop a TEAM to assist a client to leverage their business model, other TEAM members will ask you for assistance in helping them with some of their client’s.  The eS producing referral business strategy is a win / win/ win / win for your clients, your TEAM members client’s, TEAM members and you.  

    www.estrategist.com educates business professionals how to leverage their business model by moving beyond asking for referral business.

     

  • ERMI on Contractors

    Contractors continue to be the number one class of business Environmental Risk Managers, Inc. (ERMI) writes for our Partner Agencies. The vast majority of this is being driven by contracts requiring contractors to evidence Contractor’s Pollution Liability (CPL) insurance in order to perform their construction services.

    “Back in the day” it was not uncommon for contractors to negotiate the CPL insurance requirement out of the contracts.  Today, so many companies have experienced environmental liabilities created by the contractors they have hired that it’s common practice to require CPL coverage and not negotiate it out of the contract.  Home Depot and Walmart have spearheaded the charge since they each paid multi-million dollar fines to the EPA for liabilities created by their vendor contractors.

    Photo Credit: mytotalretail.com

    ERMI has also developed environmental Risk Assessments (eRA) for a variety of construction classes.  The eRA’s are designed to get you and your client/s on the same page about the environmental exposures impacting their operations.  We send our eRA’s in a Word format so you can cut and paste them into a marketing presentation that compliments your agencies marketing program.  Our Partner Agencies find utilizing the eRA’s is an excellent way to leverage their insurance sales because an educated insured understands the value investing in an environmental insurance product will add to their business model.

    The eRA’s come in three parts:

    1. Review of environmental exposure impacting your insured.
    2. Environmental loss examples
    3. Environmental insurance coverage’s that are appropriate for the insured to consider.

    The ultimate goal is to educate your insured so they can make the best decisions for their business. If your insured sees value and elects to further pursue environmental insurance coverage, we’re here to make your job easier by utilizing our insurance network to market your client’s submission and supply you with the best coverage options.

    Please let ERMI know how we can assist you to drive your sales of CPL coverage.

  • ERMI on Contractors

    Contractors continue to be the number one class of business Environmental Risk Managers, Inc. (ERMI) writes for our Partner Agencies. The vast majority of this is being driven by contracts requiring contractors to evidence Contractor’s Pollution Liability (CPL) insurance in order to perform their construction services.

    “Back in the day” it was not uncommon for contractors to negotiate the CPL insurance requirement out of the contracts.  Today, so many companies have experienced environmental liabilities created by the contractors they have hired that it’s common practice to require CPL coverage and not negotiate it out of the contract.  Home Depot and Walmart have spearheaded the charge since they each paid multi-million dollar fines to the EPA for liabilities created by their vendor contractors.

    ERMI has also developed environmental Risk Assessments (eRA) for a variety of construction classes.  The eRA’s are designed to get you and your client/s on the same page about the environmental exposures impacting their operations.  We send our eRA’s in a Word format so you can cut and paste them into a marketing presentation that compliments your agencies marketing program.  Our Partner Agencies find utilizing the eRA’s is an excellent way to leverage their insurance sales because an educated insured understands the value investing in an environmental insurance product will add to their business model.

    The eRA’s come in three parts:

    1. Review of environmental exposure impacting your insured.
    2. Environmental loss examples
    3. Environmental insurance coverage’s that are appropriate for the insured to consider.

    The ultimate goal is to educate your insured so they can make the best decisions for their business. If your insured sees value and elects to further pursue environmental insurance coverage, we’re here to make your job easier by utilizing our insurance network to market your client’s submission and supply you with the best coverage options.

    Please let ERMI know how we can assist you to drive your sales of CPL coverage.

  • Liability for Asbestos

    environmental Strategist, between the lines:  The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Employers who use asbestos can be held responsible for illnesses suffered by members of their workers’ households.

    If you are not familiar with Libby Montana, it is to asbestos what Flint Michigan has been to lead contaminated water.  In Libby, asbestos miners came home with asbestos on their clothes, so it was released into the air and breathed in by local residents and family members who contracted asbestos related illnesses.

    Most people do not realize how much asbestos is still used by U.S. business.  For those using asbestos in their business operations, share the following information with them on the California court because it has set a precedent.

    Photo Credit: http://www.aawl.org.au
    Photo Credit: http://www.aawl.org.au

    More than 1,000 tons a year for asbestos containing products

    by: Steven Kazan

    Asbestos hasn’t been mined in the U.S. since 2002. However, the country still imports the mineral from nations like Brazil, which still mines it. During the last three years, the U.S. took in more than 1,000 tons of asbestos annually.

    So where does it all go? The U.S. Geological Survey lists the chloroalkali industry as the leading user of asbestos, consuming 57 percent of mineral sources. This business uses asbestos for devices that convert brine into chlorine because the material is strong and resistant to acids and bases.

    As for the rest of the asbestos that comes into the U.S., unfortunately, some industries are still allowed to manufacture certain asbestos containing products. These include, but are not limited to:

    • Cement corrugated sheets
    • Cement flat sheets
    • Cement pipe
    • Pipeline wrap
    • Vinyl floor tiles
    • Automatic transmission components
    • Clutch facings
    • Disk brake pads
    • Drum brake linings
    • Gaskets
    • Roof coatings
    • Roofing felt
    • Clothing

     

    Liability for asbestos goes beyond workplace:

    http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Liability-for-asbestos-goes-beyond-workplace-10658229.php

  • eRMI article featured on InCite Performance Group Blog

    We have a great article up on the InCite Performance Group’s Blog. This is an excellent read for all commercial insurance professionals. Please read and contact us with any questions or to discuss further.

    “GROWING SALES, WHILE PROTECTING YOUR E&O WITH ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY INSURANCE” – Read here