Natural environments are a heritage that we have no right to modify or destroy, which is why its conservation becomes an objective that companies must keep in mind when carrying out their activity. Insurance becomes a great ally to meet this objective as it acts as a guarantee of repair and compensation in the event that the company causes damage to the environment. We tell you how it works in these cases:
This law establishes that companies that cause damage to certain natural resources must be responsible for them. That is, companies are required by law to return the damaged resource to its initial state or if it is not possible to do so, to compensate for the damage through actions elsewhere. Well, here is the first intervention of insurance since whenever liability is established, as in this environmental case, it can be covered, totally or partially, by means of insurance. So, if a company pollutes a river with a discharge, its environmental liability insurance, you can bear the cost of draining and purifying the water until the problem is reversed.
Not only the damage must be repaired, but also its consequences.
In addition to the principle that “he who pollutes, pays.” In terms of the environment, there is another fundamental principle, and that is that not only should one not contaminate, but also, if contamination occurs, it is important to carry out, as far as possible, tasks that completely eliminate the consequences of said contamination.
Measures must be taken to prevent, avoid and repair environmental damage.
We must provide the means so that contamination does not occur, but if it still occurs, it is our obligation to repair the damage. However, there is a responsibility that goes further, and that is to also repair the consequences that this damage caused to third parties; in this case, we would be talking about environmental civil liability. Here, there is also gloan insurance to cover the damage.
The insurance guarantees that companies can bear the costs of the damage produced
For a series of activities, let’s say, potentially polluting, a strict liability mechanism is established; This will sound familiar to you if you have read something about the civil liability of vehicles. In strict liability, you don’t have to do things wrong; that is, you do not have to be guilty of the fact (the contamination), so you must repair it. The rest of the activities have what is called a subjective responsibility: they will be responsible for the damages if they have mediated intent, bad faith, or negligence.
The insurance guarantees that the deceased will respond to the damage, even if he lacks the resources to face it.
And it is that the environment cannot depend on that capacity; that would build a world in which some elements of the environment would be repaired because their polluters would have money, and others would not. If you think about it, it’s the same as car insurance. To avoid that problem is why the insurance mechanism exists.
When there is insurance, the responsibility of having sufficient resources to repair environmental damage is transferred to the insurer; an entity strongly regulated and supervised by the Administration, whose solvency is constantly monitored and which, therefore, offers the guarantee that to put it colloquially, whenever money is needed, there will be money.
Two tools for environmental protection
As we have seen, today the assurance of our environment takes two main forms: environmental responsibility, born of the law and according to which the damage must, in addition to being prevented, be repaired if it occurs; and environmental civil liability, which is one more step that establishes the timely compensation of third parties who may have been affected by a pollution episode (for example, because they have experienced health problems)
