Insurers, are you prepared for new PFAS claim tenders?
With the recent inclusion of certain PFAS compounds in the National Primary Drinking Water regulations, as well as the inclusion of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA, insurers are expected to notice further increases in new PFAS claim tenders. The widespread use of PFAS in various manufacturing processes/consumer products and associated human exposures creates an enormous pool of potential future claimants, and insurers should expect the frequency of new PFAS claims to continually increase over the next few years.
Proactive preparation for the expected large volume of PFAS claims is important and now is the time to act. But what should insurers be doing to prepare?
It is critically important that insurers review their legacy Coverage Settlement Agreements to determine the scope of prior policy releases. The language of existing settlements may preclude coverage for new PFAS claims under some, or possibly all policies that were issued to an insured. This is a time-consuming yet important task, as it would be impossible to appropriately reserve for these potential claims without review. Some insurers may have hundreds, if not thousands of settlement agreements that need to be evaluated. Few carriers have the internal bandwidth to dedicate to such an assessment, and instead will need to rely upon short-term outside resources for a review of this magnitude.
For decades, Roux professionals have provided technical support and expert consultation in coverage litigation. Recently, Greg Gaines has joined Roux to further expand our capabilities and capacity in the areas of claims handling and related advisory and administrative services. Greg is a licensed attorney who has over three decades of toxic tort claim handling experience and has previously testified as an expert witness. Having spent his entire career in and around the insurance industry, his credentials for legacy settlement agreement review are unassailable.
Insurers, are you adequately prepared to respond to an expected large influx of new PFAS claim tenders? Please reach out below if you think a comprehensive evaluation by Roux of your legacy settlement agreements could provide value to your organization.
Note: Roux provides technical claim handling and expert litigation support services and does not provide legal representation to its clients.
