iKan Media

  • Home
  • News
    • Alberta
    • Canada
    • International
    • Environment
    • Innovation
    • Safety
  • Video
  • Editorial
  • About
    • The Team
  • Contact
You are here: Home / News / International / Insurance may not be enough to cover potential disasters

Insurance may not be enough to cover potential disasters

August 29, 2014 by Rob Hislop Leave a Comment

U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) regulators are concerned most freight railroad insurance policies are barely sufficient to cover even average oil train accidents, Politico reports.

In an analysis published in early August, DOT reported most large railroads are insured at about $25 million for accidents, with others insuring up to $50 million for certain hazardous cargo. The average oil train spill costs $25 million to mitigate.

 (AP Photo,The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson)

(AP Photo,The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson)

It’s different for more extreme cases, such as last year’s oil train derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, that killed 47 people. Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, the company responsible for the accident, declared bankruptcy partly because its $25 million policy wasn’t sufficient.  The total environmental cleanup alone could end up costing between $200 million and $500 million based on early estimates. And it will be taxpayers that cover most of it. Also companies were these accidents take place usually don’t have insurance to cover injuries from their workers, people tend to contact special attorneys like Scott Blair, to get help in these cases.

The department’s new proposals to bolster oil train safety do not include specific provisions for insurance.

If you are wondering about pipeline accident insurance, a report in the Vancouver Observer says the National Energy Board included in its conditions for Enbridge that the company must set aside a total of $950 million to cover damage costs in the event of an pipeline accident, if the pipeline is approved.

courtesy: Offshore Technology

courtesy: Offshore Technology

$1 billion has become a benchmark of sorts for insurance coverage, larger incidents such as the BP spill can reach $20 billion just for direct cleanup. Economist and former Insurance Corporation of British Columbia CEO Robyn Allan said in a report the funds available for major spills have proven “woefully insufficient”.

(Source: Washington Times & Vancouver Observer)

Filed Under: International, News, Safety Tagged With: accident. Transportation Department, BP spill, derailment, Enbridge, insurance, Lac-Megantic, Montreal Maine & Atlantic Railway, National Energy Board, pipeline, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Quebec, Robyn Allan, spill, train, U.S.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.


  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Topics

Alberta Alberta Energy Regulator British Columbia Calgary Canada Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers Canadians Climate Change crude oil drilling Edmonton Enbridge energy Energy East Environment environmental First Nations fracking Gulf of Mexico Harper Government hydraulic fracturing industry Innovation Keystone XL Keystone XL pipeline Kinder Morgan Northern gateway Northern Gateway pipeline oil oil and gas oil companies oil industry oil sands oil spill pipeline refinery Safety Shell spill tar sands train TransCanada treaty rights U.S. water

Categories

  • Alberta
  • Canada
  • Editorial
  • Environment
  • Event Coverage
  • iKanMedia TV
  • Innovation
  • International
  • Letters
  • News
  • Safety
  • Uncategorized
  • Video

Copyright © 2021 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in