Risk & Business Magazine Jones DesLauriers Insurance Fall 2015 | Page 8

Polluter Pays!! Pollution, Liability and Your Business BY: ADAM HINKS, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, JONES DESLAURIERS INSURANCE I n Canada, the principle of “polluter pays” lays the groundwork for the majority of the environmental laws that are in place. This principle, like it or not, is one that every business should be aware of. When a company breaks one of these laws and pollutes (or otherwise damages) the environment, they are then liable for the damage that they caused. This liability can, and often does, add up to hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Often, companies can be exposed to this liability in ways that they are not even fully aware of. Contractors should be particularly aware of these exposures. If you, for instance, owned a carpet cleaning company, what laws govern where you can dump the gray water after an extraction? For construction contractors, faulty or defective drywall could release contaminants into the air. Asbestos could be released during the construction process. Malfunctioning HVAC, motorized, or automotive equipment can release dangerous toxins. These, among many other things, can be sources of potential environmental exposures that your company could face. In the past, very few insurance companies offered pollution liability insurance. The ones who did were able to charge exorbitant rates for those policies. Fortunately, that has changed. The number of companies providing these types of policies has increased dramatically and, thus, the premiums on the policies themselves have dropped, and now start as low as $1,000 annually. With easier access and more affordable premiums, the benefits of these types of policies far outweigh the cost. If you would like more information on potential environmental or pollution liabilities your company might face, please contact me at [email protected]. Your company is important to you; don’t let the potential of unseen environmental liabilities put it in jeopardy! Adam Hinks is an Account Executive at Jones DesLauriers Insurance specializing in Manufacturing and Construction. He graduated from the Insurance Program at Mohawk College, is a Registered Insurance Broker of Ontario (RIBO), and holds both Canadian Insurance Professional (CIP) and Canadian Risk Management (CRM) designations. Umbrella Coverage The Benefits of an Owner Controlled Insurance Program BY: VLAD GUEORGUIEV, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, JONES DESLAURIERS INSURANCE W hether you are a developer, municipality, or builder, you are exposed to all types of risks when building or redeveloping a property. Generally, these risks are transferred by way of purchasing insurance policies for Builders Risk (which covers the materials, fixtures and equipment being used), Delay in Start-Up (which protects the owners’ loss of profits should the project completion be delayed), and Wrap-Up Liability (which protects the trades involved under one project specific umbrella policy). Often owners will pass the purchasing of these policies down to a third party, not really knowing what they are covered for, what their true premiums are, or how their claims will be handled. 8 An owner controlled insuran