Acknowledgement to XL Environmental
THE CLAIM
A general contractor/construction manager, not insured by XL’s Environmental group, was hired to construct a new wing onto an existing high school. An environmental watchdog group alleged that pollutants including sediment, sand, silt, and colloidal material resulting from the high school expansion project were discharged into a nearby estuary creating sediment islands, causing excessive silting in pipes, and obstructing dredging channels. It was claimed that the damages were due to a failure to follow and implement the project specific erosion and sedimentation control plan. The general contractor/construction manager served our insured, responsible for reinforcing concrete and related work on the project, with this claim. Our insured submitted the claim to their general liability carrier where it was denied based on the total pollution exclusion.
THE RESPONSE
XL’s environmental claims department quickly responded with a defense for our insured contractor. The estimated cost to remove the soil and sediment from the estuary was $300,000. As part of the claim handling process, our claims attorney reviewed the relevant contracts of the parties involved.
THE SOLUTION
A determination was made that our insured bore no liability as they were not contractually responsible for implementation of the erosion control plan. This claim was resolved at no financial or reputation cost to the insured.