As a result of owning or managing property, there are environmental liabilities that may occur for property portfolio owners, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and property investors. As a solution to help with this, XL Catlin has launched its Real Estate Environmental Protection (REEP) in Asia Pacific.
XL Catlin is the global brand used by XL Group’s insurance and reinsurance companies which provide property, casualty, professional and specialty products to industrial, commercial and professional firms, insurance companies and other enterprises throughout the world.
The standard environmental coverage provided by the REEP policy gives investors coverage for historic and new pollution conditions, both sudden and accidental as well as gradual pollution. The solution provides an extensive range of coverage from statutory clean-up orders, restoration, legal defence costs through to third-party property damage, bodily injury and business interruption, the company said in a statement. Also included in The REEP policy is a more enhanced coverage, tailored to suit specific requirements. This may include broad definition of named insured, first-party business interruption and extra expenses, fines and penalties (where legally permissible to do so), disaster expense costs, changes in legislation, as well as mold and microbial matter including legionella.
Mr Andrew Hookings, Regional Underwriting Manager, Environmental Liability for XL Catlin’s insurance business in Asia Pacific, said: “While the “Polluter Pays” principle tends to be enforced, property owners, real estate managers and developers may find themselves liable for issues they had little to do with or knew little about. Clean up and remediation can be highly disruptive, and may cost thousands or millions of dollars. This can be devastating to their businesses. The REEP policy seeks to provide clients with the broad coverage they need to protect their business.”
Ms Adias Gerbaud, Head of International Environmental Insurance, added: “Pollution incidents are a big concern in the Asia Pacific region today. Environmental exposures have been amplified by increasingly complex regulation, and a heightened awareness among the population who do not want to tolerate damage to the environment. We have seen the introduction of compulsory purchase of environmental insurance in South Korea, the increase in fines by 10 fold for New South Wales polluters and the chain of responsibility widening for polluters in Queensland in recent times. So it’s crucial for property owners and real estate managers to understand the exposures they face, have a comprehensive environmental risk management plan and the right insurance coverage in place to fence off unknown liabilities.”
