iTOO Special Risk has concluded a strategic partnership with Drizit Environmental to bring to market EnviroCare, a new environmental liability product aimed at providing insurance coverage to the transport and industrial sectors. The EnviroCare – Drizit partnership, facilitated by Doug Carmody and Warren Bolttler, provides cover which is aimed at transporters of hazardous and non-hazardous cargo in addition to any industry that manufactures, uses or stores hazardous liquids like oils and/or chemicals in their processes.

Carmody and Bolttler bring extensive combined industry experience in both the insurance and spill response industries. Carmody is the former founder of a UMA in the pollution liability space and has also been involved in the spill response industry since the 90s.  Bolttler brings vast experience to the team from an insurance broking, governance and risk management, as well as the corporate and commercial finance perspective.  Together with the iTOO Enviro team led by iTOO Special Risk Product Manager Shelley Howell, the EnviroCare, driven by Drizit, solution will provide significant benefits to fleet owners and industrial transport clients alike.

Drizit Environmental, established in 1975, is ISO and CAIA certified, providing oil and chemical pollution control services and products to industries in South Africa and many other countries. Drizit services include 24/7 emergency response to oil and chemical spillages, specialised industrial cleaning and supply a range of pollution control products which assist companies in combating pollution incidents.

Shelley Howell, Product Manager at iTOO Special Risks, explains that the partnership enables iTOO EnviroCare to provide a unique, innovative, first-to-market disruptive solution to the transport and industrial sectors.

“For the EnviroCare product, we elected to partner with Drizit Environmental, a leading pollution control and clean-up service provider with more than 47 years of specialised experience in Southern Africa,” says Howell.

“Their products and services encompass every aspect of pollution control and they have become a preferred service provider to a variety of multinational corporations.”

She notes that by partnering with Drizit Environmental, iTOO has aligned the interests of all parties involved, including the transporter, the clean-up company, the insurer and the insurance broker. This solution helps to drive down costs, improve efficiencies and create an environment where there is fair business and fair trade within the industry.

“The biggest cost in this niche industry of insuring trucks that carry dangerous goods is the clean-up – so why not get the clean-up company on our side to be a part of the solution, instead of only as a service provider?”

She notes that the partnership provides iTOO with access to around the clock hazmat spill response experts and services throughout Southern Africa, as Drizit Environmental has developed into a highly effective and efficient emergency response service provider.

“Thus, our EnviroCare product enables us to not only cover our clients in the event of spillage, but also to restore and remediate the environment, affected communities, businesses or other third parties to the condition prior to the loss,” says Howell.

“In the event of a spillage, it's not just the clean-up risk that the transporter is exposed to. There are some other liabilities that might arise, as there might for instance be a responsibility to rehabilitate the environment or there might be liability to a third party who was negatively affected by the spillage,” says Howell.

She notes that when a spillage occurs, iTOO’s first response is to mobilise Drizit nearest emergency response team. On arrival at the incident scene Drizit will assess, contain, clean-up and remediate the area to the requirements set out by NEMA and other environmental legislation.

She says spillages can have a disastrous affect on the environment, posing a serious threat to people, property and to the reputation of the polluter.  The partnership between EnviroCare and Drizit goes a long way in reducing the risks and ensuring that each incident is responded to rapidly and managed in such a way that we exceed the demands of legislation and international standards.

She explains that the EnviroCare solution will include iTOO’s existing pollution liability offering of Trucksafe, Tanksafe and SiteSafe however the introduction of our Guaranteed Clean-Up Solution allows us to target specialised dangerous goods fleets with an offering that is unmatched in Southern Africa.

This new solution allows us to broaden our offering to cover everything from stand-alone side tank cover, non-hazardous or low hazardous bulk loads up to the most hazardous, dangerous goods being manufactured, stored or transported in Southern Africa.

“What transporters and industry should be aware of is that legislation and compliance with international standards are being monitored more stringently than ever before in South Africa” she says.

“Years ago, it was acceptable for a company to simply do a clean-up and face no further liability, but these days everyone is more aware of environmental issues and the responsibility that rests on companies to act responsibly,” she concludes.