Beazley Partners with VALE to Expand Environmental Offerings

PRODUCT: Environmental insurance

COMPANY: Beazley coverage, sold through VALE Insurance Partners

AVAILABILITY: Coverage is available on an open-brokerage basis.

FOCUS: Consider the following scenarios: An apartment building owner finds a serious mold issue within the property’s walls. A contractor is sued after a homeowner finds asbestos in the insulation. A recycling company accidentally spills a tank of solvent onto a roadway.

What do these small business owners have in common? They all need environmental insurance.

Small to midsize businesses can now purchase environmental insurance coverage through a new partnership between Beazley and VALE. Available coverages include contractors pollution liability, environmental impairment liability and transportation pollution liability insurance for spills and releases either coming onto or leaving the property.

Beazley has more than 20 years of underwriting experience in the pollution marketplace, and its environmental program already includes a range of coverages: operational coverage for businesses that may face claims for polluting the premises of third parties; professional liability coverage for environmental consultants; protection for ongoing fixed-site operations; contractors pollution liability; and brownfield site remediation.

Beazley’s focus has historically centered on large businesses, but via the new partnership with VALE—a company that has been underwriting pollution products for 30 years—Beazley can provide just as much protection for smaller businesses with revenues up to $15 million.

“We have a need to fill that niche where small companies need environmental protection—because they either are consultants and need professional liability for their consulting services, or may need contractors pollution liability for the work they do,” explains Jayne Cunningham, environmental focus group leader for Beazley.

The pollution liability product is intended for sites where companies risk having a known or potential pollutant incident. Cunningham says this may include underground storage tanks and manufacturing operations that release pollutants into the air, soil or ground water. The broad coverage takes care of property damage, cleanup and even bodily injury if applicable.

UNDERWRITING: Available with limits up to $10 million on a primary basis. Site liability coverage can be written as a seven-year product. Contractors pollution and legal liability are available on a standalone basis.

MINIMUM PREMIUM: N/A.

TARGET: The coverage is designed for developers, lenders, real estate portfolios, shopping centers, manufacturers, recyclers and owners of properties—or “anyone who could have some kind of release or suddenly consider the existence of some sort of pollutant,” Cunningham says.

That includes, but is not limited to, banks, developers or “simply someone trying to buy piece of land who has issues with it,” explains Cunningham, who adds that the coverage targets environmental consultant companies that generate less than $15 million in revenue.

COVERAGE TERRITORY: All 50 U.S. states.

CONTACT: Jayne Cunningham, environmental focus group leader; Beazley, 1270 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 1200, New York, NY 10020; 917-344-3309.

Ronimarie Acord is an IA contributor.