CIC Services, Environmental Risk Managers Inc unveil environmental captive programme

CIC Services has teamed up with Environmental Risk Managers Inc (ERMI) to launch the EnviroCap programme, which uses captive insurance to manage environmental and pollution liability risk.

The programme’s creators have described it as "environmental insurance which pays you back."

Many general liability and property policies contain hidden pollution exclusions that can be unclear or may be undisclosed to business owners, according to CIC and ERMI, leaving many businesses mistaken about the level of protection they have until it is too late. At the same time, international and US federal authorities are increasingly scrutinising the environmental records of businesses of all sizes.

EnviroCap will help businesses manage this by establishing their own captive insurance company specifically tailored to insure their environmental and pollution liability risk factors, CIC and ERMI said.

Coverages are provided via a carrier rated A by AM Best and are tailored to the unique needs of each client and risk profile. Client firms that own their own environmental captive insurance company can cut up to 50 percent from traditional insurance costs, said the programme’s creators.

Chris Bunbury, president at ERMI, said the bespoke coverage ensures clients can “insure their environmental and pollution liability risk factors in a financially beneficial way.”

Tim Welles, who looks after business development at CIC Services, pointed to the hardening market for pollution, which means critical coverages are being reduced or lost for many businesses.

“The advantage of EnviroCap and a captive insurance strategy is that it gives control to the captive owner for coverage, pricing and claims while allowing the captive parent the opportunity to direct investment choices and receive favorable tax treatment,” he explained.