Beacon Hill's Environmental Insurance Blog

Environmental Concerns for Carpentry Contractors

Disturbing or exacerbating existing pollutants
Many claims faced by Carpentry contractors stem from disturbing asbestos, lead, or existing mold within the structure while work is being performed. This can take the form of asbestos ceiling or floor tiles, lead paint on windows and doors, or mold growth that existed prior to the work. Making these conditions worse by spreading the contamination can lead to significant liability on the part of the contractor.

Account Profile: Setting Realistic Expectations for Your Client

By Jamie Lewis, Account Executive
In 2012 we began to notice a trend in some of our environmental markets wanting to increase rates in their upcoming renewals. While this certainly did not apply to all carriers or all policies, we did notice slight changes of 3-5% from some carriers. Other markets took a more customized approach, carefully evaluating each policy, and charging an appropriate rate increase for the more under-priced risks.

Mid-Term Limit Increases

By Becca Cole, Associate Account Executive
Occasionally insureds have a contract requiring higher limits than they currently carry.  Sometimes, they are interested in raising their full policy limit to meet the requirement and provide higher limits for future jobs, but often it may be more practical to provide the higher limits required on a project specific basis. For example, if one particular job is requiring an $8M aggregate, an insured who feels comfortable carrying a $2M policy aggregate generally may not see the need to increase their full policy limit so much for an out-of-the-ordinary requirement.

News Alert: Understanding Carrier Financial Stability

Agents put the majority of their effort into obtaining the best possible coverage for their clients in the most affordable manner. Being sure the policy will respond to the specific exposures their clients face is the foundation of the agent/insured relationship. Coverage complexity is cited as one of the principal reasons insureds partner with agents to purchase coverage.

Understanding Risk Associated With Contaminants of Emerging Concern

By Ivy Riggs, PartnerOne Environmental
When speaking with your clients or carriers, you may have often been reminded that all applicants have an environmental exposure.  These range widely from premises hazards such as indoor air quality and legacy contamination to operational and products pollution exposures.  Because many of these risks tend to go unacknowledged and unaddressed until after a loss has occurred, a surprising number of policyholders are self-insuring their environmental risks, albeit unknowingly.

Account Profile: New Pipeline Construction Company

On December 19th 2012, our agent approached us on about a client that was spinning off a division of his company into a separate entity. The new company would be doing oil & gas pipeline construction in Pennsylvania PA and the surrounding states. It would have a starting payroll of $12M and would be working 100% for the parent company. BHA approached several markets and we were in the process of quoting...

Overcoming hurdles when discussing coverage with your environmental contractor clients.

We all have clients who may think applying for environmental coverage is a lengthy and involved process. Or they may not even think they have an exposure at all. Here are some ways to handle these tough conversations:

Transportation Pollution Liability for Contractors

Do you insure contractors who have multiple jobsites and utilize mobile equipment? How is that equipment fueled? Does the insured haul each piece of equipment back to their own location to fuel or does the fuel go to the equipment?

CPL for Weatherization and Insulation Contractors

In this age of environmental awareness and push towards more energy efficient operations, business has really picked up for weatherization and insulation contractors. What does this profession really entail?

Case Study: Broader Coverage in the Specialty E&S Market

by Brett Amick, Assistant Vice President, South Central Manager
Beacon Hill Associates recently worked with an agent needing coverage for an $8M annual revenue manufacturer of flow line control systems for the chemical and refining industries. Coverage had been in the standard marketplace for the past 7 years but was being non-renewed by the carrier due to operations. In the changing marketplace, no other admitted market would look at the risk, so it needed to be moved to the E&S marketplace.