Category: Insurance Archeology

With DERF Deadline Looming, Old CGL Insurance can be Vital Protection

Posted on by Jeff Carnahan

Published in Wisconsin Fabricare Institute’s Impressions July/August 2008 issue

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As most dry cleaners know, the deadline to enter sites into the Dry Cleaner Environmental Response Fund (DERF) Program is quickly approaching. Simply stated, if soil and groundwater samples are not collected at your site and you have not entered you site into the DERF program by August 30, 2008, you will not be eligible with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Continue reading “With DERF Deadline Looming, Old CGL Insurance can be Vital Protection”

Finding the Money for Environmental Clean-Ups In Yesterday’s Business Records

Posted on by Jeff Carnahan

Written by David A. O’Neill, J.D., Director of Investigations, Enviroforensics and PolicyFind
Published in CleanFacts Issue 2 2008

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Successful dry cleaners keep a clean shop. Yet in recent years, the tidiest of dry cleaners are discovering that their inclination toward older and cleanliness is having a negative impact on their ability to stay in business. Shedding and discarding old business records has long been the way to keep storage areas manageable and office areas functional. However, dry cleaners are finding that certain of the old business records they destroyed are the very documents they now need to keep their doors open.

Continue reading “Finding the Money for Environmental Clean-Ups In Yesterday’s Business Records”

Indiana Dave and the Insurer of Doom

Posted on by Jeff Carnahan

Insurance archaeologist helps keep matters out of litigation

By Dennis Pillsbury

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Anyone who has perused cases involving clean-up of Superfund-identified hazardous waste sites probably winds up shaking his or her head at the complexity of the claims and the often inane resolutions where only the attorneys seem to leave happy. There was one case where a business was required to pay for the clean-up of lead pollution that dated back to a Revolutionary War armory that once occupied the site. Needless to say, that armory was no longer around to help pay for the clean-up. And the pollution had leeched into the ground water. It was not an inexpensive proposition. Continue reading “Indiana Dave and the Insurer of Doom”

Interview with Steve Henshaw and David O’Neill

Posted on by Jeff Carnahan

U.S. INSURANCE LAW REPORT
David O’Neill & Stephen Henshaw, Edited for continuity and clarity.
Vol. 1, No. 2,Thursday, January 29, 2004

Stephen Henshaw is the founder and President/CEO of EnviroForensics (headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana), the only environmental consulting firm in the country (to our knowledge) that combines environment investigation/engineering/design expertise with insurance coverage and settlement resolution expertise. It is this latter specialty that interested us the most, as over the years the company has carved a niche for itself in the field of insurance archaeology, especially for small to mid-sized businesses. David O’Neill is the company’s chief insurance archaeologist. O’Neill, an attorney, with an insurance background, and Henshaw, in the following interview, gave us a primer on insurance archaeology. Continue reading “Interview with Steve Henshaw and David O’Neill”

Interview with Steve Henshaw and Dave O’Neill Part 2 of 4

Posted on by Jeff Carnahan

USILR: What is the specialized set of tools that insurance archaeologists use

Interview with Steve Henshaw, P.G., President & CEO, EnviroForensics & PolicyFind, and David O’Neill, Director of Investigations, EnviroForensics and PolicyFind

O’Neill: First and foremost, the insurance archaeologist is a researcher. He must pay attention to detail and have strong perseverance. The insurance archaeologist needs awareness of the history of the insurance market; i.e. Lloyd’s development of the first broad-form third-party excess liability coverage forms, the emergence of the comprehensive general liability (CGL) policy in the American market and the revision of the policy forms by the Insurance Rating Bureau (IRB) and later the Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO). Continue reading “Interview with Steve Henshaw and Dave O’Neill Part 2 of 4”