Environmental Consultants Insurance
Environmental Consultants Insurance provides professional, general and pollution liability coverage for environmental consultants working in various niches. You may feel that as a consultant, your liability is low but we’ve seen time and again that consultants, like any other professionals, make oversights, errors and omissions. The difference is that with environmental consultations, those errors can be devastatingly costly and can include a hefty price tag for the complete teardown, removal of harmful/hazardous material and rebuild of a structure purchased or constructed on the advice of an environmental consultant. That is to say nothing of massive regulatory fines, the high cost of litigation and financial damage to both consultant and consultee that is brought on by bad publicity.
The above are just a few of many more specific situations that environmental consultants can potentially face. There are several others that are more commonplace but are still expensive enough to make it reckless to practice as an environmental consultant without the protection of Environmental Consultants Insurance. It’s also vital to remember that allegations alone are costly whether they have any merit or not and Environmental Consultants Insurance covers defence costs.
The coverages provided by an Environmental Consultants Insurance policy make it possible for single consultants, small- and medium-sized firms and multinational consultancy organizations to focus on their craft and leave the worry of liability and financial instability due to potential litigation behind. Environmental Consultants Insurance policies are customizable and can be tailored to meet your business’s specific needs.
Highlights of an Environmental Consultants Insurance Policy
Environmental Consultants Insurance can provide coverage for:
- Clean-up and other costs stemming from work done as an environmental consultant
- Regulatory fines
- Defence costs and legal fees for lawsuits alleging negligence, errors or omissions
- Settlement costs for resolutions made outside of court
- Damages awarded by a court at the conclusion of a trial
It’s important to note that this coverage includes retroactive coverage to the earliest date of continuous Environmental Consultants Insurance coverage which means that changing insurers is done seamlessly, but it needs to be carefully handles by a commercial insurance broker experienced in handling claims made based insurance policies.
Environmental Consulting Insurance is a “claims-made” type of policy so the insurers on risk at the time claim becomes known is the insurers that responds. This is a valuable benefit because if an extended reporting period or run-off is properly secured it can protect you indefinitely, even years after you’ve retired, as long as you were covered at the time of alleged error or omission. This is crucial as environmental issues can take years before they make themselves known.
Environmental Consultants Insurance – Who Needs it?
“Environmental consultant” encompasses a wide variety of professions and can include: general contractors, subcontractors, construction managers, waste brokers and more.
- Environmental audit consultants
- Environmental compliance consultants
- Environmental engineers
- Environmental permit consultants
- Environmental testing laboratories
- Phase I/II/III investigation consultants
- Geologists
- Air quality, mold and asbestos consultants
- Above-ground and underground storage tank installers
You may belong to a discipline not listed here but as long as your work involves consultation on environmental issues, Environmental Consultants Insurance may be the coverage your practice needs. Contact ALIGNED to discuss your business operations with an expert in environmental consultancy liabilities.
Other Insurance Coverages for Environmental Consultants
There are some insurance coverages that no business should be without and others that, depending on the scope of your environmental consultancy business, are either necessary or highly recommended. We’ve summarized a few of them below.
Commercial General Liability Insurance
Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance is a must for all businesses. It covers claims based on your business’s products, services and business practices that aren’t related to your environmental consultancy/advisory work. This can include personal injury, property damage and false advertising claims.
Commercial Property Insurance
Commercial Property Insurance protects your physical workplace and the contents inside from perils such as fire, flood, sewage backup and more. Do you run your environmental consultancy practice from home? Your home insurance may not cover your business property in case of peril and, in fact, if it’s determined that your business activities contributed to the peril, may void your home insurance altogether.
Commercial Liability and Privacy Insurance
Cyber Liability & Privacy Insurance has become a necessity for almost every business regardless of industry. Electronic devices are required in any environmental consultancy business and what major organizations, including CRA, falling victim to hacks shows us is that even the most sophisticated cybersecurity measures are vulnerable. Think your business is too small to target? Cybercriminals are increasingly focusing their attention on small- and medium-sized businesses for smaller, yet quicker, ransom payoffs.
Commercial General Liability Insurance
Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance is a must for all businesses. It covers claims based on your business’s products, services and business practices that aren’t related to your environmental consultancy/advisory work. This can include personal injury, property damage and false advertising claims.
ALIGNED, Risk Management Experts Environmental Consultants Trust
At ALIGNED, we’ve worked with environmental consultancy firms of all sizes and advocate on their behalf with the premier Environmental Consultants insurers in Canada. We get our clients the coverage they need to protect themselves from the liabilities specific to environmental consultancy at rates they can easily afford. Contact an ALIGNED Advocate for a free, no-obligation quote in minutes.
Related Matters: Environmental Contractors Pollution Liability Insurance
