Source: Insurance Journal, August 31, 2012 The commercial general liability market for the U.S. construction industry continues to firm with underwriters seeking rate increases of up to 15 percent, according to a report published by Marsh. Construction firms with poor loss histories are experiencing even larger liability rate increases and in some cases receiving non-renewal […]

Source: Wisconsin State Journal, September 2, 2012 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com Testing has turned up a probable culprit in the contamination of the Madison Water Utility’s Well No. 15 on the city’s East Side: cleaning solvents from a defunct dry cleaning shop on Lien Road. Concerned about the well’s increasing levels of tetrachloroethylene, utility officials contracted […]

Read here about a utility in South Carolina that settled a lawsuit alleging illegal discharge of contaminants.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com, August 23, 2012 Jury Finds Dow Chemical Subsidiary Union Carbide And Others Responsible For Knowingly Using Cancer Causing Asbestos Products. DALLAS (PRWEB) August 23, 2012 In June 2012, the family of a mesothelioma patient was awarded $48 million by a Los Angeles Superior Court jury after finding Dow subsidiary Union Carbide Corp., Riverside Cement, […]

Read here about a settlement that has been reached in a case alleging improperly handled and disposed radioactive waste in Kentucky.

Source: http://www.lexology.com, August 7, 2012 By: Andrew R. Kwiatkowski and Douglas J. Feichtner, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP If a firm states that a construction project possesses sustainable features or energy-efficient attributes relative to traditional practices, certain risk mitigation issues and practices must be addressed. Green construction claims differ from conventional claims in three key areas: relatively […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, August 16, 2012 By: Cori C. Steinmann, Sedgwick LLP Since the late 1990s, there has been a boom in natural gas and oil drilling across the United States. It is estimated that 13,000 new natural gas wells are drilled each year, or about 35 wells per day. According to the U.S. Energy Information […]

Source: Insurance Journal, August 29, 2012 Freberg Environmental Insurance (FEI) has formed an agreement to underwrite environmental insurance coverage with Berkley Custom Insurance Managers, LLC, a newly formed member company of W. R. Berkley Corp. In addition to writing core environmental programs for site-specific pollution liability and environmental consultants and contractors, FEI is enhancing their […]

Read here about a ruling by the Supreme Court in New Mexico that states that company’s insurance may cover contamination clean-up at former mine.

Source: http://www.npr.org, August 28, 2012 By: Scott Detrow Mike and Nancy Leighton’s problems began on May 19, just as Mike was settling in to watch the Preakness Stakes. A neighbor in Leroy Township, Pa., called Mike and told him to check the water well located just outside his front door. “I said, ‘I’ll be down […]

Read here about a lawsuit that has been filed in Virginia as a result of mold found in military housing.

Source: The Ashland Daily Tidings (Oregon), August 24, 2012 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com An insurance group that covers the Ashland Gun Club and city of Ashland is arguing that it has no responsibility to pay any damages related to lead contamination from ammunition. In a case filed in April in U.S. District Court in Medford, underwriters […]