Universal Insurance Facilities Ltd. now offers pollution legal liability insurance for the self-storage industry. The new coverage provides for on-site cleanup as well as legal expense and defense in situations involving pollution conditions. Underwritten by a company rated A+15 by A.M. Best, the product is available to all eligible storage facilities nationwide.
 
According to Universal, pollution conditions is currently defined as: the discharge, dispersal, release or escape of any solid, liquid, gaseous or thermal irritant or contaminant, including but not limited to smoke, vapors, soot, fumes, acids, alkalis, toxic chemicals, medical waste and waste materials into or upon land, or any structure on land, the atmosphere or any watercourse or body of water, including groundwater, provided such conditions are not naturally present in the environment in the amounts or concentrations discovered.
 
The discovery of meth labs at self-storage facilities is a bona fide concern, said Randy Tipton, president of Universal. Most insurance policies have specific pollution exclusions. Pollution legal liability insurance will provide protection not readily available to the self-storage industry. This will give facility owners an insurance solution to a real hazard that is currently uninsured.
 
For more information, call 800.844.2101; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.universalinsuranceltd.com.