San Diego , Coming to insurance renewal near you: “PFAS Exclusion.”
That’s the prediction of Joseph Sacca, a Washington, D.C.-based partner at Nossaman LLP, which represents businesses in insurance disputes over covering historical and current losses over so-called forever chemicals, also known as PFAS. , which is the abbreviation for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
Mr. Sacca presented at RiskWorld, the annual conference of the Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc., in San Diego on Monday, just weeks after two major actions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on PFAS. The topic, he said, has reshaped many industries and their operations. Has influenced. Insurance programs, both current and historical.
In April, the EPA established safe levels of so-called forever chemicals in drinking water and a pair of widely used industrial chemicals under the nation’s Superfund program aimed at reducing chemical waste at historic sites. Designated as hazardous substances.
The Superfund changes, in particular, will change the risk landscape, he said.
“We’re expecting new testing, new monitoring, new thinking on what measures will be needed,” he said. “If actionable levels are found at some sites it could also potentially lead to redistribution between responsible parties.”
Expect to delve deep into insurance disputes and state regulations, he said, because an environmental claim on one state may translate differently in another.
While the issue has its place in general liability policies, emerging environment-specific policies and events may trigger D&O coverage, Mr. Saka said.
“This will require companies to examine historical policies that may be in storage or that may be missing,” he said. “A lot of companies are going to object to this and say, I don’t know where this is. what can you do? And I would say that’s a big mistake because when you think about it, you’re dealing with an investment of several thousand at the risk of potentially billions of liabilities.
