Brownfields Development Sites Insurance

Brownfields are abandoned, idle or under-utilized industrial and commercial properties whose expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived contamination. Some of these sites were contaminated when the materials discharged into the ground were judged safe and legal at the time. As more substances are found to be harmful, such as leaded gasoline and radon, many older sites are officially designated as contaminated. Lenders and industrial corporate owners frequently allow brownfields' taxes to become delinquent and let the city take over. Some states have enacted laws that allow a certain amount of contamination to remain after a site has been cleaned up. These laws address the need for the involved parties to restore the property to active use, while still protecting the owner's, operator's and seller's liability. Coverages available under a brownfields package include remediation stop loss insurance, residual contamination cleanup endorsement to the site environmental exposures policy, third-party liability coverage, and environmental impairment liability for cleanup operations and continued operations as a going business.