Environmental liability is a top-of-mind issue for business owners, shareholders, governments, and the broader community. The scope of liability has widened and is more far-reaching than many businesses appreciate, particularly those industries who were not once considered “dirty”.
Insurers are developing new products to provide cover where traditional liability policies do not. Our team is at the forefront of this fast-changing situation. We work with an established group of environmental expertise and advise environmental insurers on a range of claims under pollution liability policies – those held by landowners, business operators and contractors. This includes compliance, incident management, conducting investigations, responding to environmental enforcement actions and managing corporate and executive officer liabilities.
Landowners and businesses are facing a new spectrum of environmental risks and exposures, but there is no industry standard of coverage in environmental insurance policies. Insurers are developing new products to provide cover where traditional liability policies do not. Understanding what coverage is available and managing complex environmental claims, requires genuine expertise that you can only find in a team of highly skilled lawyers with one focus – insurance law.
Recent work
Representing an insurer in relation to a claim in excess of $1 million for clean-up costs arising from a chemical spill after a train derailment in Queensland. This included advice relating to coverage, quantum, and the insured’s liability. We were able to resolve the claim quickly and within the reserve.
Representing an insurer in respect of coverage for an environmental clean-up costs claim brought against a service station where fuel had escaped from an underground storage tank. This included defending the claim before the Contaminated Sites Committee and in other civil proceedings.
Representing an environmental insurer in relation to a clean-up costs claim following one of the largest fuel spills in NSW. We also acted for the insurer in the successful recovery against the maintenance contractor.
Defending numerous primary producers in NZ in prosecutions under the Resource Management Act 1991 for activities such as discharging contaminates. In many cases we minimised our clients’ legal exposure and reduced penalties.