Like a lot of business owners, you might be under the assumption that you aren’t liable for any pollution that occurs as a result of products – unless you actually manufacture the products yourself. However, this common misconception can end up costing you a tremendous amount of money in legal fees, cleanup costs, and it could potentially result in the loss of your business.
While yes, companies that manufacture products are held liable for any defects that occur and end up polluting the environment, they aren’t the only companies that can be held responsible.
If you own a company that sells or leases products to other people, or your company installs, services, or repairs products that could potentially cause pollution, you could also be held responsible. Don’t assume that you will be protected by the manufacturer’s products pollution liability policy, because you may not be.
Moreover, the manufacturer may not even have such a policy. And furthermore, don’t make the mistake of assuming that your general liability insurance policy will protect you, because there’s a very good chance that it won’t.
As the saying goes, the best offense is a good defense. If you own a business that is involved in the installation, repair, servicing, or leasing of products that could potentially cause pollution, having a products pollution liability insurance policy is in your best interest.
Products pollution liability insurance is a specific type of liability policy that is designed for manufacturers, distributors, and service repair contractors of various types of products. These products can include anything that could potentially pollute the environment; pipes used for gas lines, tanks used to hold sewage, and drums that store industrial paints, for example.
For instance, if you own a company that transports drums of grease or solvents and there is a defect in the tank that leads to a leak during transport, you could be held liable for the damage, even though you didn’t manufacture the drum.
The type of coverage provided by a products pollution liability insurance policy will vary from provider to provider. However, in general, these types of insurance policies offer coverage for the following:
For example, should a product that you manufactured, transport, install, service, or repair have a defect, and that defect results in pollution that contaminants groundwater, products pollution liability insurance coverage can protect you from the costs of the damage.
Just like any type of insurance policy, a products pollution liability insurance policy is designed to protect business owners from any potential, unforeseen incidents that may arise. These incidents can have a direct impact on the public, which could lead to a direct – and devastating – impact on the business itself. A pollution insurance policy is important because:
Yes, you can add additional coverage to a products pollution liability policy. Some additional coverage options include:
These are just a few of the coverage options that can be added to a products pollution liability policy.
We hope this article on products pollution liability insurance has been informative. To find out if you need extra coverage and what types of options would best suit your needs, speak to a reputable insurance provider. Pollution is a serious matter. If your business handles products that have the potential to cause pollution, protect yourself with products pollution liability insurance.
