The increase in environmental awareness in Europe is not merely a fleeting topic, it is taking the form of legislation that is increasingly more vigilant with potentially contaminating activities and increasingly stricter with companies that have contaminated, either accidentally or gradually, whether they are guilty or not. The Law states that if you are responsible you must compensate third parties for any damages and you must leave the setting exactly how it was before the contaminating action. The costs involved may be enormous.
Environmental liability concerns us all, but certain companies are more affected than others. These include:
> Industrial manufacturing companies
> Companies dealing with storage or treatment of sensitive goods
> Transport companies
> Multinationals or companies with very high turnover
Environmental guarantee coverage:
> Coverage for accidental and gradual contamination: to avoid problems in determining the nature of the contaminating action, many of these types of coverage cover both situations.
> Restoration expenses: the expenses for returning the affected ecosystem to its original state are covered.
> Clean-up expenses: the expenses for cleaning the factory or facilities themselves, arising from the contaminating event, are covered.
> Compensation to third parties: personal and material damages to third parties affected.
> Historical Contamination: land may be found to have been contaminated by previous actions of which we were unaware, and for which we are also responsible. This coverage resolves such situations.
> Technical guidance on the claim: whenever there is an incident of accidental contamination, rapid action is vital. Insurance companies provide their clients with specialised technical staff to deal with the crisis from the outset.
> Legal expenses: the company suspected of causing the environmental damage is guilty until it can prove otherwise. The coverage of these policies usually includes legal expenses.
> Personal legal expenses: a personal claim against a worker or executive may arise from an environmental claim. These policies may cover the legal expenses of these individuals.
The complexity of this coverage, the costs entailed, the importance of a good prevention plan and compliance with legislation would all seem to recommend the specialised guidance that the team at Ferrer&Ojeda can offer our clients in order to determine the optimal insurance solutions and processes to guarantee maximum peace of mind with regard to environmental risks.
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