dollars of claims, with many billions more expected
through 2040. Every year, companies are blindsided
by lawsuits alleging that claimants were injured by
asbestos that the defendant manufactured, installed,
removed, used or even carried — decades after the
products were removed from the shelves.
Similarly, environmental cleanup is a costly undertaking often necessitated today by pollution that “occurred” before the creation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act, or CERCLA, in 1980. Discharge or water disposal
practices in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s resulted
in contamination without the policyholder intending
it or expecting it. Pollution can be the result of operations that continue over the course of decades, and can
remain in and spread through soil and groundwater
in and around a site without discovery for years before
removed or treated.
Products claims are another big-ticket item that can
have a long tail. Despite a company’s best intentions, a number of helpful products have produced
(or are alleged to have produced) lasting, unintended harmful effects.
Putting Your Policies Back Together
So what happens if you hit the storage facility in
search of your historic insurance coverage, only to
find a drawer filled with dust bunnies and old takeout menus? Are you out of luck?
Not necessarily. Obviously, the first goal is to find
copies of the actual insurance policies. If a sweep of
the likely storage areas is unsuccessful, you may need
to get more creative in your search. Employees who
placed historic coverage may remember where the
policies are, or the identity of historic insurance
providers. Policy information may also be
found in documents such as certificates
of insurance, insurance ledgers,
annual reports, canceled premium
checks and year-end financial summaries. Finding one policy may
lead to others, because a
policy schedule often
lists prior insurance
or insurance in
layers above or
below the
policy.
18 Enforce: The Insurance Policy Enforcement Journal
“
But how likely is it
that your company will
be sued for an injury
that allegedly took place
before the bicentennial?
More likely than
you’d think.
”