AGCS offers response services in environmental emergencies for policyholders

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (AGCS) announced today that it now offers expanded emergency response services as part of its Environmental Impairment Liability (EIL) coverage when pollution and/or contamination events occur. AGCS has established strategic partnerships with GM Consultant (global) and HETI (United States and Canada) to offer immediate support and claims investigation services for clients, worldwide.

Responding to a pollution or contamination incident in a timely and effective manner helps control the overall impact to the environment and minimizes negative effects on human health, biodiversity and property. Through GM Consultant and HETI, AGCS can offer a 24/7 support system to handle related emergencies. EIL coverage typically includes pollution insurance and businesses interruption (BI) indemnity covering loss of profits and extra expenses.

“We are extremely pleased to be working with GM Consultant. Coupled with our existing relationship with HETI in North America, we are now poised to offer a truly seamless and global response”, stated Peter Oenning, Head of Global Claims Liability, AGCS. “Responding to environmental emergencies requires the coordination of multiple parties, including regulatory and law enforcement agencies. This is often a daunting task, but these partners can effectively assist in appropriate response activation, remediation, regulatory communication and waste disposal, as well as claims auditing functions.”

Wide-ranging crisis scenarios

Environmental emergency scenarios resulting in water, air or ground pollution are wide-ranging, including damage from waste discharge activities, emissions or disposal practices, as well as spills of toxic substances leaking into the environment, despite established security measures. Agricultural run-off, such as pesticides or fertilizers sweeping into soil or groundwater can also cause environmental damage and adverse health effects.

Pollution can arise from natural perils too, as demonstrated by mold claims post Hurricane Harvey. For businesses, the consequences from environmental incidents can be significant resulting in potential liabilities such as penalties or fines from regulators and having to pay significant disposal, remediation or clean-up expenses after contamination or spillages.

Effective containment and coordination

During an emergency, dedicated specialists from GM Consultant or HETI will help AGCS EIL clients analyze the root cause of an incident, design and implement a personalized and well-planned crisis response, including containment measures and support communication and third-party coordination.

Founded in 1999, GM Consultant group is an independent loss adjusting and consulting firm, offering comprehensive solutions for operational risk and claims management in 30 countries and jurisdictions. HETI is a full-service environmental health & safety risk management company, established in 1986, which maintains offices/contract staff throughout North America.

“Supporting an effective crisis or emergency response is becoming a key element across the AGCS Liability product line,” added Ciara Brady, Global Head of Liability, AGCS. "With our new global vendor network, AGCS EIL clients will benefit from real-time, global incident response services in local languages – a great value-add service that further outlines AGCS’s commitment to providing client-centric solutions.”

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) is a leading global corporate insurance carrier and a key business unit of Allianz Group. We provide risk consultancy, Property-Casualty insurance solutions and alternative risk transfer for a wide spectrum of commercial, corporate and specialty risks across 12 dedicated lines of business.

Our customers are as diverse as business can be, ranging from Fortune Global 500 companies to small businesses, and private individuals. Among them are not only the world’s largest consumer brands, tech companies and the global aviation and shipping industry, but also wineries, satellite operators or Hollywood film productions. They all look to AGCS for smart answers to their largest and most complex risks in a dynamic, multinational business environment and trust us to deliver an outstanding claims experience.

Worldwide, AGCS operates with its own teams in 34 countries and through the Allianz Group network and partners in over 200 countries and territories, employing over 4,400 people. As one of the largest Property-Casualty units of Allianz Group, we are backed by strong and stable financial ratings. In 2018, AGCS generated a total of €8.2 billion gross premium globally.