Contractor’s Pollution Liability

Our Capacity

Primary capacity up to AUD20M is available and facultative arrangements can be made to increase this up to AUD50M where required.

Key Product Benefits

Some of the key benefits of the policy include:

Clean-up costs

The costs to clean up a site/ property following environmental contamination or a pollution event. It is important to acknowledge that the Clean Up Costs protection “stands alone” and acts as its own “trigger” under the Policy, important in claim circumstances where there is no property damage event sufficient to trigger an occurrence under the general liability policy.

The Chase Policy also extends to cover Loss arising from the “investigation, containment, monitoring, disposal and/or remediation of pollution conditions” that could typically arise from activities that have a direct link to the contamination of soil and groundwater. The policy also covers clean-up costs incurred to comply with EPA notification and remediation orders.

Third party property damage / bodily injury

Compensation for third party loss arising out of a pollution condition caused by the Insured’s Business & Activities.

Claims could arise from contaminating groundwater used for human consumption or even damage to a neighbouring property as a result of a pipeline release.  The Chase Policy would then respond to:

• Physical injury to third parties arising from a pollution condition
• Loss of amenity of third party property
• Diminution in value of third party property (where such property has been physically damaged by a pollution condition).

Transportation Extension

Coverage for liability arising out of transportation of soil and associated waste materials.

The Policy responds for the loss that would be generated from Clean Up Costs to return the spill site to its original form, as well as any associated property damage or bodily injury.

Emergency Response Costs

Applies where the Insured has to take emergency action to remediate pollution at a job site following an event and where there is insufficient time to cease work and notify Chase of a loss. This serves to reduce the “gap” in many TPL Policies which would exclude “Any expenses for the prevention of the actual, alleged or threatened discharge, dispersal, release, seepage, migration or escape of Pollutants”.

Natural Resource Damage

This type of damage claim would typically be brought against the Insured by a government department, but can also be brought by one or a group of citizens. Based on statutory authority outlined in specific environmental laws, it is intended to compensate for damage to natural resources that benefit the public as a whole.  It is becoming increasingly common to enforce contract conditions that require coverage for “Environmental Damage” and damage to native vegetation and gradual pollution circumstances.

Non Owned Disposal Site Extension

This important protection provides cover against an order to remediate a providers landfill/ waste transfer facility in cases where the Insured have used such facility for disposal of soil or waste materials in the past. A claim would typically arise in circumstances where the Insured unknowingly disposed of contaminated materials at such a site.

Civil Fines and Penalties

The majority of EPA actions involve some form of fine or penalty that can vary considerably in scale. In circumstances where there is no readily identifiable “Loss”, the EPA may still issue a fine as a direct deterrent to enforce corrective actions (examples of recent claims involve dust and noise emissions and the release of contaminated waste water).