PIER program eases the pressure

Reacting slowly to an emergency can potentially be extremely damaging to your business, reputation and the environment. Incidents can quickly escalate and a delayed response may prove costly.

This is why thousands of businesses worldwide rely on AIG’s Pollution Incident and Environmental Response® (PIER) program to provide round-the-clock support and assistance, no matter the scale or severity of the crisis.

Provided to all AIG insurer policyholders, PIER’s toll-free, 24-hour hotline provides access to a network of specialized contractors who have the ability to respond quickly to an incident. AIG’s PIER contractor network can assist customers with developing remediation plans and mitigating damages. Even after the initial response, the AIG PIER team is available to help with providing access to specialists in crisis communications and clean-up procedures.

“The PIER program is a great supplement to any business that is managing hazardous materials or products,” says Shirleen Laubenthal, national engineering director of AIG’s Environmental division. “Environmental laws may require companies that use hazardous materials or manage hazardous waste to have an emergency response plan in place that outlines how it will respond to an incident. PIER can be a supplement to these plans and help our customers manage their exposure.”

BUILDING ON SUCCESS

The PIER program was established in 1997 after AIG’s transportation division recognised there were a growing number of claims involving upsets and overturns with tankers and trailers. While a typical auto policy tends to cover everything associated with the motor unit, the actual contents of the tanker or trailer are often excluded, she says. “AIG insurers saw an opportunity to assist our customers during an emergency and manage losses through an incident and environmental response program.”

“If we provide a service to our customers that reduces costs for them and their company, we have accomplished our goal” Shirleen Laubenthal National engineering director, AIG Environmental

The initial success of PIER soon saw the service expand to AIG’s environmental group to assist customers with pollution incidents. Since inception, PIER has responded to well over 2,500 incidents, with an average of 175 incidents each year – roughly one every other day. The most common type of response is related to transportation, such as ruptured saddle tanks, leaking cargo, and tanker truck rollovers. Other common incidents include chemical spills and fires at industrial facilities, petroleum and home heating oil spills, light aircraft accidents and responding to mould and microbial matter.

Most of AIG Environmental’s insureds in the chemical sector have annual revenues below $500m (€387m). These firms find PIER particularly invaluable, says Laubenthal, as they may lack dedicated in-house resources to manage an emergency response and comply with the regulatory requirements as seen with larger corporations.

“We understand the difficulties facing smaller companies in managing environmental risk when you don’t have a large staff,” she says. “It’s hard to identify every scenario that could happen in a crisis; the PIER value-added service is a great way to assist our insureds with emergency response and management. Our goal for PIER is to get a contractor to them expeditiously to help manage their response.”

Laubenthal notes that PIER is unique, helping to source local ­specialists who are often based within a two hour radius of an incident.

Although the primary focus of PIER is in the US and Canada, AIG Environmental is expanding the service’s global footprint. Currently, there are 60 contractors within the PIER network in the US and Canada, six in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and one in Latin America. There will be an increasing focus on two of the latter’s largest growth markets, Brazil and Mexico, she says. Future expansion is also being considered in Australia and Asia Pacific.

EXPANSION PLANS

“It takes time to set up these networks but we are always looking to expand,” she says. “The focus for us is making sure our customers are aware of the value-added services, like PIER, that provide them with tremendous benefits.”

An initial vetting process assesses contractors with a comprehensive interview and review of insurance and references. Fees are agreed to provide policyholders with competitive rates for emergency response and consulting services.

“We don’t require our customers to use our PIER network; there is absolutely no obligation,” she says. “But, this unique service is available for all of our policyholders. In an emergency situation some contractors may charge exorbitant fees for their response services. We have pre-negotiated rates with a network of pre-approved contractors to help our insureds manage these costs, as well as potential insurance losses. If we provide a service to our customers that reduces costs for them and their company, we have accomplished our goal of meeting the customer’s needs.”

PIER is constantly evolving and evaluating new contractors. “We work extremely close with our claims team to monitor increases in frequency or severity in pollution losses,” says Laubenthal. “We then work on finding specialists in that area to assist. If we’re seeing a lot of losses associated with perfluorinated compounds (PFC) for example, we may add a company that specialises in remediation systems to treat wastewater discharge containing PFCs into the network. It’s an ever evolving service.”

• More information about AIG Environmental and the types of insurance coverage available