Alberta Risk Advice by Cielito Villanueva

Contractors involved in operations for oil & gas companies tend to have a mountain of liability concerns that is unique to their industry. One of the main liability exposures is pollution.

Limited Pollution Liability Coverage: A Solution?

Depending on the insurance company, some form of pollution coverage is included or available for purchase as an endorsement on a policy. In this example, the limited pollution liability endorsement from one particular company covers bodily injury or property damage arising out of an unexpected or unintentional spill, discharge, emission, dispersal, seepage, leakage, migration, release, or escape of pollutants, provided it results in injurious presence of pollutants in or on land, the atmosphere, drainage or sewage system, watercourse, or body of water

AND

provided the escape of pollutants is detected within 120 hours after the start of the escape of pollutants and is reported to the insurance company within 120 hours of escape. One might ask how the insurance company can verify when the escape began so to err on the side of caution, one should report this immediately upon discovery.

Drift Liability

Drift liability is also another coverage that is included or available for purchase and will cover bodily injury or property damage arising out of an unintentional emission, dispersal, migration, release, or escape of pollutants arising out of operations that involve the spraying of chemicals, such as pesticides or herbicides.

The examples above are only a translation of the actual wordings. That being said,  it is most prudent for contractors to sit down with a broker to review the coverage, limits, limitations, and exclusions contained in their commercial general liability policy. This way they can verify if they have some form of pollution coverage–coverage that might satisfy the requirements of a future job.