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Pollution

UK: Damage to land, water, property or the atmosphere by the disposal of waste materials or the release of toxic, corrosive, ionising, irritating, thermal or other noxious or offensive substances. The environment can also be impaired by noise or vibration. Pollution causes direct (bodily injury, damage to crops) and indirect (loss of profits due to business interruption and clean-up costs) costs. Statutory control comes through the Environmental Protection Acts 1990-95 invoking ‘the polluter pays principle’.
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US: The contamination of an environment by substances regarded as pollutants. Liability from pollution is normally excluded to some degree by the general, auto, and umbrella liability policies. In recent years, insurers have attempted to introduce strict exclusionary language into these policies, making it necessary for insureds to seek coverage under separate “environmental impairment liability” policies.

Pollution clause

Public liability clause excluding liability for pollution and contamination unless caused by a sudden, identifiable and unexpected incident ‘happening in its entirety at a specific time and place during the period of insurance. All pollution/contamination arising out of one incident is deemed to take place at the time of the incident. The clause is more widely used than SEPTIC. The aim is to exclude gradual pollution from the cover. See ENVIRONMENTAL IMPAIRMENT LIABILITY; POLLUTION INSURANCE.

Pollution Hazard Clause

Covers loss or damage to the vessel following governmental action to prevent or mitigate a pollution hazard or damage to the environment or threat thereof. The government’s act must flow directly from damage to the vessel for which the underwriter is liable. (Clause 5 International Hull Clauses).

Pollution Hazard Coverage for Marine Hull

This insurance covers loss of or damage to the Vessel caused by any governmental authority acting under the powers vested in it to prevent or mitigate a pollution hazard, or threat thereof, resulting directly from damage to the Vessel for which the Underwriters are liable under this insurance, provided that such act of governmental authority has not resulted from want of due diligence by the Assured, the Owners, or Managers of the Vessel or any of them to prevent or mitigate such hazard or threat, Master, Officers, Crew or Pilots not to be considered Owners within the meaning of this Clause should they hold shares in the Vessel.

Pollution insurance

1. First party insurance indemnifying the insured in respect of expenses incurred in extracting pollutants from land or water on his own site(s) when their release results from an insured loss. Cover may be added to material damage insurance or marketed as pollutant clean up and removal insurance. 2. Pollution liability insurance covers the insured’s legal liability to third parties for bodily injury, property damage or clean up costs on third party sites. Cover may be the result of ‘sudden and accidental pollution’ as per the pollution clause or accidental nuisance, a term in the operative clause of the public liability policy, that usually applies to the accidental escape of pollutants, smells, etc. and includes liability for pure financial loss. Environmental impairment liability provides the widest cover as it applies to gradual pollution cover and may be combined with first party cover. 3. The debris removal clause brings the cost of removing or decontaminating contaminated items within the scope of material damage insurance. Similarly smoke damage following fire is a form of contamination and will be covered under material damage insurance. 4. See 1992 CLC.