PRODUCT: Prime PREMIER.

COMPANIES: Ascot Specialty Insurance Company.

BEST RATING: A

AVAILABILITY: Appointed agents and brokers only.

FOCUS: Global specialty insurance firm Ascot has expanded its environmental offering with the launch of Prime PREMIER, a new fixed-site pollution product designed for clients focused on real estate, manufacturing, distribution, warehousing, industrial and development companies. The product is Ascot's latest addition to its environmental insurance product portfolio.

“Environmental liability policies need a product that is highly customizable to solve their unique, specific risks and exposures, and that is exactly what Prime PREMIER is designed to do," says Ted Mavraganis, senior vice president, head of environmental, Ascot Group. “The product is also supported by a suite of 85+ endorsements that can be utilized to modify coverage and create custom solutions for each individual risk."

COVERAGE DETAILS: The product is a streamlined site pollution liability policy providing coverage enhancements that are relevant to middle market and Fortune 1,000 companies.

The policy provides supplementary payments, including defense, outside the limits of liability within the base policy form. The policy also does not include a retroactive date, which means coverage is offered for full pre-existing, unknown environmental conditions on, at, under or migrating from a covered location.

Another unique coverage feature is the occurrence-based Coverage B for miscellaneous pollution liability. This insuring agreement houses the coverage for transportation pollution liability on a first- and third-party basis, including loading and unloading of cargo. PREMIER also provides the option to add in contractors pollution liability, which can be used to cover off-site operations that an insured performs for third parties and can even include full project-specific owners controlled insurance program (OCIP) coverage with a completed operations coverage extension.

UNDERWRITING: Environmental reports, tank schedules, risk control surveys, statements of value and a detailed loss history are typically required to underwrite and quote a risk. However, Ascot can utilize a third-party environmental regulatory data platform to fill in the gaps where certain details may be unavailable. The minimum premium is $10,000.

TARGET: Real estate, commercial and industrial risks, brownfield and greenfield redevelopment sites and merger & acquisition transactions. It is also a viable option for power and utility, renewables, waste management, public entities, fixed-base operators and airports, and more.

COVERAGE AVAILABILITY: All U.S. states.

COVERAGE TERRITORY: The U.S., its territories and Canada with the ability to schedule foreign locations for parental indemnity coverage.

Will Jones is IA editor-in-chief.