Keyword
pollution
Why pollution liability brokers should pay attention to this auditor general report
December 9, 2021 by Greg MeckbachThe Ontario government should re-visit a rule that leaves polluters off the hook for hazardous spills that cost less than $10,000 to clean up, the province’s auditor general suggests. In 2016, the Ontario environment ministry [now called the Ministry of…
In pollution claim, ‘sudden’ could mean several months, court finds
June 8, 2021 by Greg MeckbachInsurance coverage for a “sudden and accidental” release of diesel fuel can include a discharge that continued over several months, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal has ruled in a commercial coverage dispute. As a result of Zurich Insurance Company…
Pollution coverage gaps your clients may not know about
May 21, 2021 by Greg MeckbachThe cost of cleaning up after spills of petroleum, oil, or other contaminants may not be covered under your client’s liability or property policy, a managing general agent warns. Many clients are exposed to pollution risk but are not necessarily…
How not to handle a lawsuit alleging historical environmental contamination
March 9, 2020 by Greg MeckbachBrokers wanting to advise commercial clients on pollution liability risk might learn a lesson or two from London Transit Commission v. Eaton Industries (Canada) Company, released this past Friday by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. London, Ontario’s city bus…
Pollution exclusion means no coverage for this dry cleaner defendant
January 16, 2020 by Greg MeckbachA British Columbia court ruling in favour of Intact Insurance Company and Economical Mutual Insurance Company is now final. A Vancouver-based dry cleaners that wanted to make a pollution-related claim with the two insurers, under commercial general liability policies, cannot…
Could CGL policy have to cover this dry cleaning pollution claim?
December 17, 2019 by Greg MeckbachA coverage dispute over pollution exclusions might bring two of Canada’s largest insurers before the Supreme Court of Canada. West Van Lions Gate Cleaners Ltd. has operated a dry cleaners in Vancouver since 1976. Until 1999 an automotive repair business…
Supreme Court rules on 1985 pollution liability indemnification
December 6, 2019 Jim Bronskill - THE CANADIAN PRESSOTTAWA – Two forest-product companies are on the hook for looking after a mercury-contaminated site near Ontario’s Grassy Narrows First Nation, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled. The 4-3 decision Friday brought some clarity to a long-running dispute over…
How this dry cleaner got sued over 50-year-old pollution
April 11, 2019 by Greg MeckbachAn Ottawa dry cleaner is liable for nearly $2 million in environmental clean-up costs resulting from spills that occurred at least 45 years ago, as a result of a Supreme Court of Canada ruling released Thursday. The top court’s ruling…
How Intact and Economical won this pollution coverage dispute
April 10, 2019 by Greg MeckbachA court ruling against Economical and Intact over pollution exclusions in commercial general liability policies has been reversed. As a result, the insurers do not have to defend a Vancouver area dry cleaner against a lawsuit filed by its neighbours…
New Brunswick pulp and paper firm fined $3.5 million for pollution
November 6, 2018 THE CANADIAN PRESSSAINT JOHN, N.B. – Irving Pulp and Paper Ltd. has been hit with one of largest penalties ever imposed in Canada for an environmental violation. The company, based in Saint John, N.B., was fined $3.5 million Monday for dumping improperly…
The ‘wake-up call’ for brokers placing D&O liability
October 2, 2018 by Greg MeckbachA multi-million-dollar pollution clean-up order that spooked the Canadian insurance industry has some commercial brokers taking a good hard look at the exact wording of mid- to large-sized clients’ directors and officers (D&O) liability policies. The Ontario Ministry of the…
How commercial insurers are addressing this D&O coverage gap
September 21, 2018 by Greg MeckbachIf your corporate client goes under and occupies polluted land, what happens if individual directors are left on the hook to clean up environmental contamination? This is the subject of “long, complex discussions” that Aon Canada brokers are having with…