Environmental industry solutions

Whether your business is involved in industrial operations or brownfield redevelopment, Zurich can help protect you from the environmental exposures you’re facing, including:

• Hazardous chemical storage from a previous owner or tenant
• Hydraulic oil leaks from elevator wells
• Lead-based paint contamination or lead solder in the water pipes
• Bacteria, fungus or spores in heating, ventilation or air conditioning systems
• Poor housekeeping or waste disposal practices by a tenant or previous owner, such as onsite garbage incineration
• Release of asbestos, radon or solvents into the air
• Water leaks and vapour from the use of green building materials

Brownfield redevelopment can be lucrative for property owners and developers. Before these unused and contaminated sites are put to productive use, a series of environmental risks should be addressed, including:

• Unexpected discovery of contamination during redevelopment
• Aggravation of existing contamination by a consultant or contractor
• Discovery of contamination on adjacent properties
• Spread of existing contamination during remediation
• Claims for bodily injury liability or property damage liability, or both, related to the existing contamination

Environmental liability tailored to your development

Zurich understands each of your projects has its own complex exposures and distinct coverage needs. That’s why Zurich created Z Choice™, an environmental liability insurance solution that can be customized to your project. It’s flexible enough to add or remove coverages as your needs change. That makes it more cost-efficient, too, as you are paying only for the coverage you choose.

> Learn more about Z Choice™

More real estate transactions are derailed today by even the mere suspicion of an environmental exposure. As a commercial real estate owner, operator, developer or property manager, you may face environmental risks from a variety of exposures, including tenant operations, neighbouring properties, historical property use, inadequate housekeeping, or other building maintenance practices or property events. Zurich offers environmental coverages designed by an insurance provider with the depth of experience and knowledge to understand the risks you face and how to deal with them.

Z Choice™ Real Estate Environmental Liability (REEL) is fully customizable allowing you to secure exactly the coverage you require for your fixed-facility exposures including:

• First-party cleanup costs
• Third-Party
  • Bodily injury
  • Property damage
  • Natural resource damages for new or existing events
  • Microbial substances
  • Transportation of materials liability

Z Choice™ REEL policy offers a simplified format with coverage distinct to the marketplace with the inclusion of three coverage offerings:

• Crisis management expense:Includes expenses for retaining a public relations firm to help maintain or restore public confidence after a pollution event
• Green remediation: Allows your business to incorporate green cleanup technologies after a covered pollution event
• Green standards: Enables the repair or replacement to comply with green standards such as LEED Green Building Rating System™

> Learn more about Z Choice™ REEL coverage highlights

> Learn more about Z Choice™ REEL

With defaulted mortgages and foreclosed commercial properties, lenders are often left with collateral on environmentally impaired property. Financial institutions require coverage that will protect their assets from environmental risks. That is why Zurich introduced lenders environmental collateral protection policy to address the specific challenges and needs of financial institutions. Drawing on decades of experience, Zurich has the flexibility to provide environmental coverage for either a portfolio of loans or an individual transaction.

To give lenders an efficient and cost-effective approach to managing environmental risk, Zurich tailored risk-transfer insurance solutions to financial institutions. Risk-transfer insurance includes:

• Faster and easier loan processing
• Better insurance protection from existing and new environmental exposures 
• Lower costs compared to traditional due-diligence methods

As government regulation and consumer awareness of pollutants continue to grow, environmental liabilities also increase. This can leave contractors open to costly and complex litigation, and financially detrimental damage awards.

Zurich is helping contractors meet emerging business risks by offering environmental insurance coverage supported by industry specialists with a single point of contact. In the decades since Zurich began offering environmental liability insurance, we have covered various types of contractors, including:

• General contractors working on commercial and industrial sites who have to deal with potentially contaminated soils, poor indoor air quality and building envelope issues
• Environmental contractors dealing with contaminated sites, asbestos/lead/mould abatement, emergency response, storage tanks, lab packing, drillers and industrial cleaning/maintenance
  
• Artisan contractors who are specialists in plumbing, drywall, electrical, masonry, painting, insulation and more
  
• Restoration contractors that are specialists in water extraction and drying, as well as rebuilding construction services as a result of damage caused by fire, water, vandalism, earthquakes, storms and other natural disasters
  

Zurich also provides contractors with specialized coverages including Contractor’s Pollution Liability insurance and Environmental Services Package insurance, to help meet contractual requirements or address operational risks.