Environmental liability insurance

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An environmental liability insurance (UHV) is an addition to a company liability insurance to liability claims for damages to insure due to environmental influences. Such claims are AHB in Germany according to paragraph 7.10 (b) 2012 (§ 4 point. I 8 AHB 94) from cover the liability insurance excluded.

The environmental liability insurance is divided into 2 variants:

The basic environmental liability insurance insures damage caused by environmental impacts that are not caused by environmentally relevant systems (e.g. water treatment systems, chemical production systems, filter systems, storage systems for substances and the like) or activities on such systems.

In addition, the so-called risk of recourse due to damage caused by environmental impacts resulting from manufacture, storage, delivery, planning or assembly (environmental liability recourse / liability).

Environmental damage

In common parlance, environmental damage and environmental impairment have the same meaning. There is no uniform, EU-wide definition of the term environmental damage. Only a few Member States have even anchored a definition in their national law.

Based on the German Environmental Liability Act (UmweltHG), damage is defined as environmental damage caused by environmental impacts such as B. substances, pressure or noise are caused and have spread in the environmental media water, soil and air. Insignificant impairments (Section 906, Paragraph 1, Sentence 1 of the German Civil Code), which a "reasonable average person" perceives as such, are considered permissible. If limit, threshold and discharge values ​​(orientation values) are not met, it is generally assumed that they are permissible (Section 906 (1), sentence 2 of the German Civil Code). If immissions are above the insignificance limit, that is, measure values ​​according to environmental law, it is also decisive whether these are customary for the location (Section 906 (2) BGB). The orientation values ​​of the (pollutant) limit concentrations or loads of pollutants in soil, water and air are essential. The decisive factor is always the assessment of the individual case and the desired renovation target value.

Environmental Liability Act

In 1991, today's Environmental Liability Act came into force. With this new regulation, the coverage concepts had to be fundamentally revised, since in addition to the protected goods surface water and groundwater , the protected goods air and soil were also added. Above all, the direct contact is important, i.e. the respective path of action such as

  • Soil - human,
  • Soil - crop and
  • Soil - groundwater.

In addition to solid contamination , there is also gaseous contamination .

On the occasion of the introduction of the Environmental Liability Act, the then HUK Association developed environmental liability insurance.

The Environmental Liability Act provides for general no-fault liability for traders. Furthermore, there is strict liability for systems that are particularly hazardous to the environment. However, environmental damage within the meaning of the Environmental Liability Act is limited to so-called third-party damage. The law does not provide for liability for ecological damage. The EU Environmental Liability Directive, which has been in force in the EU member states since April 30, 2007, closes this gap. In Germany this was implemented in the form of the Environmental Damage Act .

The German environmental liability insurance

The environmental liability policy provides coverage for liability claims due to personal injury, property damage and financial loss caused by environmental impacts on the environmental media of soil, water and air. Depending on the individual risk of the policyholder, various insurance modules are available for system types, recourse and general environmental risk :

  • Component 1: WHG systems

Systems for the production, processing, storage, storage, transport or discharge of substances harmful to water, with the exception of environmental high-pressure systems and waste water systems.

  • Module 2: UmweltHG systems

Facilities in accordance with Appendix 1 of the UmweltHG, for which, however, there is no coverage obligation.

  • Module 3: Other declarable systems

Plants that are subject to environmental protection regulations (e.g. 1st, 2nd or 4th BImSchV) to a permit or notification requirement, unless they are WHG plants (risk module 1) or UmweltHG plants (risk modules 2 or 5) acts.

  • Module 4: Wastewater systems and effects on bodies of water

Wastewater systems or the introduction or discharge of substances into a body of water or acting on a body of water.

  • Module 5: EnvironmentalHG systems subject to coverage

Systems in accordance with Appendix 2 of the UmweltHG, for which there is an obligation to provide coverage in accordance with the UmweltHG.

  • Module 6: Plant product risk

Risks arising from the planning, manufacture, delivery, assembly, dismantling, servicing and maintenance of systems or parts for such systems that are not operated by the company in accordance with risk modules 1 to 5.

  • Module 7: Additional risks

Environmental impacts from the risks described in the contract, provided they do not originate from facilities or activities that fall under the scope of the aforementioned risk components.

In addition to accidental and sudden environmental damage, German environmental liability insurance also covers gradual damage, i.e. damage from normal operation. This, however, only if the systems were operated in accordance with the law and according to the state of the art until the occurrence of the damaging event.

The most important facts, for which there is basically no insurance cover, are:

  • intentional violations of protective laws or official requirements,
  • Blob damage,
  • Damage that already occurred at the start of the contract, i.e. the damaging event is still ongoing
  • Damage from the subsequent acquisition of land with already contaminated soil (old deposits and old locations).

Web links

literature

  • Schröder, Marc: EU environmental liability guideline, environmental damage law and environmental damage insurance. 1st edition. Association of the sponsors of the Institute for Insurance at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences 2008
  • Salje, Peter and Peter, Jörg: Environmental Liability Act (UmweltHG). Comment. 2nd edition Munich: CH Beck 2005.
  • Geigel: The liability process , 25th edition, Munich 2008 [Verlag CH Beck], ISBN 978-3-406-56392-8 , Chapter 24: Liability for environmental damage.
  • Vogel, Joachim and Stockmeier, Hermann: environmental liability insurance, environmental damage insurance, 2nd edition, Munich 2009, Verlag CH Beck, ISBN 978-3-406-57538-9 .
  • Mewes, Marc Lothar: Public law and liability law in the risk society . Publishing house Peter Lang,
  • Herbst, Christian: Risk regulation through environmental liability and insurance , Duncker + Humblot Verlag, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-428-08488-8 .
  • Gerhard, Sven: Natural damage through transports , VVW Karlsruhe, 1998, dissertation, ISBN 3-88487-742-9 .
  • Dörnberg, Hans-Friedrich von; Gasser, Volker and Gassner Erich: environmental damage, liability, avoidance and insurance, project approval . Parey Verlag Hamburg 1992, ISBN 3-490-11318-7 .

Laws and Regulations

  • Ordinance on the General Conditions for the Supply of Water (AVB WasserV) of June 20, 1980, last amended on December 11, 2014.
  • Law on the organization of the water balance (Water Management Act - WHG) of July 31, 2009, last amended on November 15, 2014.
  • Drinking water ordinance (TrinkWV 2001), last amended on December 14, 2012.
  • Federal Soil Protection Act (BBodSchG) of March 17, 1998, last amended on February 24, 2012.
  • Federal Soil Protection and Contaminated Sites Ordinance (BBodSchV) of June 12, 1999, last amended on January 15, 2005.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ BGH BGHZ 120,239 (255), VersR 1993,609 (613)