LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
ACE today encouraged risk and insurance managers of multinational
businesses to assess how they insure cross-border environmental
impairment liability risks as the exposures they face continue to change.
The recommendation comes at a time when the legal frameworks for
environmental protection have been strengthened in many countries and
individual directors and officers of companies have become increasingly
exposed to civil and criminal liabilities resulting from environmental
incidents in many markets.
Responding to the changing risk environment, ACE and international law
firm Clyde & Co have published a new report for insurance managers and
brokers: “Structuring multinational insurance programmes –
Identifying challenges and solutions for multinational environmental
impairment insurance programmes”.
The report highlights the US, EU and Australia as examples of
jurisdictions with extensive regulations that have changed recently. It
emphasises that change is often fastest in emerging markets with China,
India, Thailand and several Latin American countries including Brazil,
Mexico, Panama, Colombia and Peru all establishing legal frameworks in
place.
The report also highlights that, in many countries, laws expose
corporate directors and officers to civil or administrative liabilities
and criminal offences as result of environmental incidents, including
Australia, Canada and the US. Additionally, it identifies a trend by
legislators towards enacting civil and criminal offences of strict
liability, which can be established without any need to prove intent or
negligence on the part of the individual.
Suresh Krishnan, Executive Vice President, Global Accounts at ACE said:
“We operate in an evolving and increasingly complex global legal
landscape with many emerging market policymakers, in particular,
becoming increasingly sensitive to the environmental footprint of
multinational corporations operating in their countries and expecting
them to demonstrate financial responsibility for their environmental
liabilities.
“In many countries, an appropriately structured global environmental
impairment insurance programme can help companies to meet these
responsibilities. However, it is important for risk and insurance
managers and their insurance partners to think carefully about the
programme structure that will best perform for their environmental
impairment liability needs.
“Keeping a close eye on changing developments will be increasingly
important in helping companies gauge whether they have appropriately
structured their local policies to satisfy local regulations and have
adequate excess or umbrella policy limits to cover any unforeseen gaps.”
Karl Russek, Senior Vice President for Environmental Risk at ACE
Overseas General, said:
“Companies might not realise that pollution liabilities arising from
their day-to-day operations may not be covered by traditional general
liability and property insurance programmes in many countries, while
liability exposures for directors and officers arising from
environmental incidents may be changing.
“Given recent high-profile pollution incidents and an increasingly
complex web of environmental laws and regulations around the world, the
focus on environmental liability issues is only likely to grow and at
ACE, we are seeing increasing demand from risk and insurance managers
for robust multinational insurance programmes in this important and
changing area of risk.”
For more information, and to download the report, go to:
http://progress.acegroup.com/media/attachments/2014-04-15_Structuring_multinational_insurance_programmes_-_environmental_risk.pdf
ENDS
About ACE:
ACE Group is one of the world’s largest multiline property and casualty
insurers. With operations in 54 countries, ACE provides commercial and
personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and
supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a
diverse group of clients. ACE Limited, the parent company of the ACE
Group, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ACE) and is a
component of the S&P 500 index.
Visit www.acegroup.com/eu
Source: ACE