This insurance coverage form was considered “rarified air” for most businesses until recently. Expanded definitions of pollution, broadened laws and aggressive attorneys have served to make even the most unsuspecting businesses potential targets for ‘pollution’ claims.
IMPORTANT: Pollution is NOT covered by “Business” Liability coverage.
Consider a restaurant that has an accidental spill of cooking oil. The cooking oil goes into a floor drain, into the sewer system an then into a stream…
Consider the same spill that takes place in the driveway of the restaurant and ends up on a neighbor’s property.
Consider an office that discards toner cartridges that get broken open and coat someone’s car.
Consider a retail store that cleans the floor in their mall location and ‘fumes’ from the cleaner get into the HVAC system causing multiple complaints from patrons of other stores.
All of these scenarios indicate an exposure for “Pollution” liability insurance.
Summary
“Commercial Liability Insurance” was not intended extend coverage to Environmental Impairment. Insurance companies quickly addressed the coverage question by excluding EIL from their policies.
Today, EIL insurance has evolved into a highly specialized product marketed by approximately ten major national carriers to business in almost every commercial endeavor.
The good news is that unless you are engaged in a hazardous operation, the insurance is readily available at varying price points.