Environmental Risk and Insurance

About this book

This is the only comprehensive text on the increasingly important subject of environmental risk and insurance. The author presents many risk and insurance issues from acid rain and global warming to toxic tort law developments and the crisis with workers' compensation insurance and pollution liability coverage. This volume is the product of nearly eight years of research, which included reviewing over 250,000 pages of laws, documents, reports, and notes, as well as countless hours of investigations, interviews, and research. Basic and advanced environmental liability and insurance principles are covered, along with suggestions for financing pollution cleanups and safety programs. A new method for restructuring and improving Superfund is presented after an in-depth discussion of pertinent legal and financial issues. The book also provides local, national, and international case histories demonstrating the kinds of difficulties encountered by businesses and citizens and the solutions they have sought. All of this information, combined with the valuable charts, appendices, specimens, contracts, sample insurance policies, model letters, and certificates, makes Environmental Risk and Insurance an unmatched reference source for businesses, institutions, and government agencies caught up in the midst of analyzing their environmental risk exposures.

Contents

INTRODUCTION. HOW ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION CAN IMPACT YOUR FINANCIAL SECURITY. THE IMPACT ON BUSINESS. THE IMPACT ON CITIZENS. THE IMPACT ON GOVERNMENT. A PROFILE OF HAZARDOUS WASTE AND THE HAZARDOUS WASTE INDUSTRY. MEASURING THE SCOPE OF TOXIC RELEASES: POLLUTION, HEALTH RISKS, LIABILITY, AND INSURANCE CLAIMS ACROSS THE NATION. CASE STUDY: THE CANNONS ENGINEERING CASE SETTLEMENTS. A SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PROVISIONS AND LAWS BASED ON FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS. AN OVERVIEW OF KEY U.S. LAWS. A Brief Survey of Major Federal Hazardous Wastes and Toxic Substances Laws. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The Relationship Between RCRA and CERCLA/SARA. The Need for Insurers to Address Risk Exposures. FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR FINANCIAL ASSURANCE. What Do We Mean by Financial Responsibility? Liability Insurance. Federal Rules-Payment for Closure and Postclosure Care. Automobile Liability. SARA-Underground Fuel Storage Tanks. Special Problems for USTs. A Summary of Insurers' Arguments Against Providing Coverage. THE NECESSITY OF CHECKING STATE LAWS AND RULES. States with Interim Status. States without Interim Status. Summary Lists. Financial Responsibility Assurances for Bodily Injury and Property Damage Discovered or Caused after Closure. Financial Responsibility Assurances for Cleanup at Closure or During the Postclosure Period. ENVIRONMENTAL RISK AND INSURANCE PROBLEMS FOUND IN OTHER KINDS OF INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS. Workers' Compensation and Occupational Disease Claims. The Special Environmental Risk and Insurance Problems Concerning Asbestos and Asbestosis. THE SPECIAL ISSUES CONCERNING THE LAW OF TOXIC TORTS AND HAZARDOUS WASTE LITIGATION INCLUDING THE IMPACTS OF MASS DISASTERS. TOXIC TORT LAWSUITS. Liability for Conduct. Liability for Products. Liability for Premises. PATTERNS OF LEGAL CAUSE. Sole Causation. Joint Causation. Concurrent Causation. Uncertain Causation. COMPARATIVE FAULT FOR TOXIC TORTS. Recognition of Comparative Contribution. Evolution of Comparative Fault. Representative Applications. THE IMPACT OF MASS DISASTERS. VICTIMS' COMPENSATION. LIABILITY AND INSURANCE FOR MARINE VESSELS AND OIL SPILLS. RECENT ISSUES AND EMERGING DEVELOPMENTS. OIL SPILLS-LIABILITY AND INSURANCE: AN OUTLINE. POLLUTION INSURANCE AVAILABILITY FOR MARINE VESSELS. AFTER VALDEZ-THE NECESSITY FOR NEW OIL SPILL LIABILITY AND COMPENSATION LAWS. NUCLEAR LIABILITY RISK AND INSURANCE. POOLING FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. FORMS OF COVERAGE. SPECIAL NUCLEAR POWER AND NUCLEAR WASTE PROBLEMS. NUCLEAR POWER-KINDS OF INSURANCE. SPECIAL RISKS AND INSURANCE OF WEAPONS PLANTS. ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHES AND INSURANCE SYSTEMS. INSURANCE AGAINST RISKS OF FLOOD, EARTHQUAKES, AND HURRICANES. INTERDEPENDENT ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS AND INSURANCE. THE SPECIAL ISSUES OF INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISK AND INSURANCE. THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT. ACID RAIN. GLOBAL WARMING AND THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT. INTERNATIONAL INVOLVEMENT AND REGULATORY MEASURES. SUMMARY OF SELECTED EUROPEAN POLLUTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. EEC Sixth Amendment Rules. EEC Air Pollution Directives. A UNIFIED EUROPE WILL NEED TO DEAL WITH MULTINATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS AND INSURANCE PROBLEMS. Basis of Liability in Selected Nations (EEC and Others). THE SPECIAL INSURANCE PROBLEMS ARISING FROM POLLUTION LIABILITY. FINDING COVERAGE FOR CLAIMS DUE TO THE RELEASE OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS. Comprehensive General Liability Insurance. TECHNICAL ENVIRONMENTAL CLAIMS ISSUES. Increased Claims Under RCRA/CERCLA/SARA. Defenses to a Section 106 Order. CONTINUAL AND RECURRENT INSURANCE COVERAGE ISSUES. The Pollution Exclusion and "Occurrence" Issues. Bodily Injury Coverage Trigger Theories. Property Damage Coverage Trigger Theories. DECISIONS INVOLVING CERCLA CLAIMS. CLEANUP COSTS RECOVERY THEORIES. THE MEASUREMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE. THE ROLES AND USES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS. ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT AND RISK ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES. Environmental Risk Assessment. Environmental Audit. Uses of Assessments and Audits. Conclusion. RISK MANAGEMENT AND RISK ASSESSMENT. Objectives of Risk Assessments. Confidentiality of Data. Sample Environmental Risk Assessments. Discovering the Existence of Toxic Substances. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR BANKS AND LENDING INSTITUTIONS. PROBLEMS FOR TITLE INSURANCE. HUMAN HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENTS. "RIGHT-TO-KNOW". AN EMPLOYER'S HAZARD COMMUNICATION PROGRAM. OTHER INSURANCE COMPLICATIONS. RISK ASSESSMENTS AND STATISTICS. DETERMINING "HOW CLEAN IS CLEAN?" RISK ASSESSMENTS AND CLEANUP COST ESTIMATIONS. OBJECTIVE SITE-SPECIFIC PHYSICAL CONDITIONS. THE APPLICATIONS OF LIFE INSURANCE CONCEPTS TO ENVIRONMENTAL RISK AND INSURANCE. QUESTIONS OF INSURANCE FOR CLOSURE/POSTCLOSURE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. Feasibility of Private Insurance. Loss Measurements and Loss Potentials. Adaptability of Life Insurance Concepts. Other Private Insurance Feasibilities. The St. Paul Closure/Postclosure Agreement. THE MERITS OF STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS IN FINANCING SUPERFUND SITE CLEANUPS-THE MYTHS AND THE REALITIES. "THE WINDS OF CHANGE"-A REVIEW OF THE CLEAN-AIR BILL. ALTERNATIVE RISK FINANCING MECHANISMS: RISK RETENTION GROUPS, RISK PURCHASING GROUPS, AND CAPTIVE INSURANCE COMPANIES. DEVELOPMENT OF THE RISK RETENTION LAW. ENACTMENT OF THE LEGISLATION. RISK RETENTION GROUPS. PURCHASING GROUPS (PG). CAPTIVE INSURANCE COMPANIES. EXCESS COVERAGE POOLS. SELF INSURANCE. THE FUTURE OF ALTERNATIVE RISK FINANCING MECHANISMS. THE ULTIMATE ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTION-NO RISKS, NO INSURANCE-THE POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL HOLOCAUST OF THE 21ST CENTURY. A LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL TO RESOLVE THE POLLUTION LIABILITY CRISIS: THE ENVIRONMENTAL RISK AND INSURANCE CORPORATION ACT (ERICA). POLLUTION LIABILITY AND EIL POLICIES. THE ADDED ELEMENTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISK AND INSURANCE. AN ACT RELATIVE TO ESTABLISHING A U.S. POLLUTION LIABILITY INSURANCE CORPORATION. Fact Sheet. The Proposed Legislation. A HAZARDOUS INTERSECTION: BUSINESSES AND INSURERS WANT TO REROUTE SUPERFUND IN 1991. PERSONALIZING ENVIRONMENTAL RISK AND INSURANCE. INDOOR AIR POLLUTION-SPECIAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS AND INSURANCE PROBLEMS. THE BAIRD & McGUIRE POLLUTION LIABILITY AND INSURANCE PUZZLES-CAN THE VICTIMS BE COMPENSATED? THE NEW REALITIES FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE FIRMS AND INSURANCE REGULATIONS-THE CASE OF CLEAN HARBORS AND THE PROPOSED TOXICS INCINERATOR. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. THE SOURCES OF STATUTORY POLLUTION LIABILITY AND FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY RULES AND THE APPLICABILITY OF INSURANCE. EPILOGUE. APPENDICES.

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