AI
| Followers | 80 |
| Posts | 82226 |
| Boards Moderated | 2 |
| Alias Born | 12/26/2003 |
Saturday, May 04, 2013 3:16:59 PM
OUTRAGE!__Atty: Texas plant that blew up carried $1M policy
11:41 am, Saturday, May 4, 2013
DALLAS (AP) — A lawyer says that the Texas fertilizer plant that exploded last month, killing 14 people, injuring more than 200 others and damaging or destroying property for blocks in every direction was only insured for up to $1 million in liability.
Tyler lawyer Rancy C. Roberts said Saturday that he and other attorneys who have filed lawsuits against West Fertilizer's owners were told Thursday about the size of its policy.
An insurance industry group estimates that it may have caused up to $100 million in damage.
An attorney for United States Fire Insurance Co., of Morristown, N.J., confirmed the policy details to the Dallas Morning News (http://dallasne.ws/107cRT9 ). It didn't name the attorney. A company lawyer didn't immediately respond to a phone message Saturday left at his office by The Associated Press.
West Fertilizer was insured for only $1 million, a fraction of estimated losses
“A million dollars is a pathetic amount for this type of dangerous activity,” lawyer Randy C. Roberts said.
“If you want to drive a truck down the interstate, you’ve got to have $750,000 in coverage, even if you’re just carrying eggs,” Roberts said. “But if you want to put this ammonium nitrate into this town next to that school and that nursing home and those houses, you’re not required to carry insurance.”
The West Fertilizer Co., scene of an explosion last month that killed 15 people and injured 200, carried only $1 million in liability insurance.
The cause of the blast is still under investigation. Should the company be found negligent, that amount of coverage probably would pay only a fraction of the claims.
Property damage alone in West could reach $100 million, according to the Insurance Council of Texas, an industry association. The April 17 explosion destroyed an apartment complex and seriously damaged a nursing home and a school. Several hundred homes also sustained damage, with some leveled to the foundation.
An attorney for United States Fire Insurance Co. of Morristown, N.J., confirmed Friday that West Fertilizer had $1 million in liability coverage “with no excess or umbrella coverage.”
Fertilizer facilities like the one in West are not required to have liability insurance that would compensate for damage they might cause, state insurance officials say, even if hazardous material is on hand.
West Fertilizer had reported having 270 tons of ammonium nitrate on site as of the end of last year. Outside experts have said it appears the chemical exploded during a fire on company property.
The office of state Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman issued a written statement late Friday saying the Texas Department of Insurance “does not have actual knowledge of the existence of or details regarding any liability insurance coverage” of the West facility.
“Others have estimated the damages at $100 million,” Kitzman’s office said, “far more than the amount of insurance we have heard the company may have had.”
Kitzman’s office said it isn’t the department’s role to “assess and quantify risk; we regulate the insurers that help consumers and businesses insure their risk.”
Tyler lawyer Randy C. Roberts, who has filed two negligence suits against West Fertilizer on behalf of victims, said the company’s policy was deeply inadequate.
“A million dollars is a pathetic amount for this type of dangerous activity,” Roberts said.
“If you want to drive a truck down the interstate, you’ve got to have $750,000 in coverage, even if you’re just carrying eggs,” Roberts said. “But if you want to put this ammonium nitrate into this town next to that school and that nursing home and those houses, you’re not required to carry insurance.”
‘Fair shake’ doubted
more -
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/west-explosion/headlines/20130503-west-fertilizer-was-insured-for-only-1-million-a-fraction-of-estimated-losses.ece
11:41 am, Saturday, May 4, 2013
DALLAS (AP) — A lawyer says that the Texas fertilizer plant that exploded last month, killing 14 people, injuring more than 200 others and damaging or destroying property for blocks in every direction was only insured for up to $1 million in liability.
Tyler lawyer Rancy C. Roberts said Saturday that he and other attorneys who have filed lawsuits against West Fertilizer's owners were told Thursday about the size of its policy.
An insurance industry group estimates that it may have caused up to $100 million in damage.
An attorney for United States Fire Insurance Co., of Morristown, N.J., confirmed the policy details to the Dallas Morning News (http://dallasne.ws/107cRT9 ). It didn't name the attorney. A company lawyer didn't immediately respond to a phone message Saturday left at his office by The Associated Press.
West Fertilizer was insured for only $1 million, a fraction of estimated losses
“A million dollars is a pathetic amount for this type of dangerous activity,” lawyer Randy C. Roberts said.
“If you want to drive a truck down the interstate, you’ve got to have $750,000 in coverage, even if you’re just carrying eggs,” Roberts said. “But if you want to put this ammonium nitrate into this town next to that school and that nursing home and those houses, you’re not required to carry insurance.”
The West Fertilizer Co., scene of an explosion last month that killed 15 people and injured 200, carried only $1 million in liability insurance.
The cause of the blast is still under investigation. Should the company be found negligent, that amount of coverage probably would pay only a fraction of the claims.
Property damage alone in West could reach $100 million, according to the Insurance Council of Texas, an industry association. The April 17 explosion destroyed an apartment complex and seriously damaged a nursing home and a school. Several hundred homes also sustained damage, with some leveled to the foundation.
An attorney for United States Fire Insurance Co. of Morristown, N.J., confirmed Friday that West Fertilizer had $1 million in liability coverage “with no excess or umbrella coverage.”
Fertilizer facilities like the one in West are not required to have liability insurance that would compensate for damage they might cause, state insurance officials say, even if hazardous material is on hand.
West Fertilizer had reported having 270 tons of ammonium nitrate on site as of the end of last year. Outside experts have said it appears the chemical exploded during a fire on company property.
The office of state Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman issued a written statement late Friday saying the Texas Department of Insurance “does not have actual knowledge of the existence of or details regarding any liability insurance coverage” of the West facility.
“Others have estimated the damages at $100 million,” Kitzman’s office said, “far more than the amount of insurance we have heard the company may have had.”
Kitzman’s office said it isn’t the department’s role to “assess and quantify risk; we regulate the insurers that help consumers and businesses insure their risk.”
Tyler lawyer Randy C. Roberts, who has filed two negligence suits against West Fertilizer on behalf of victims, said the company’s policy was deeply inadequate.
“A million dollars is a pathetic amount for this type of dangerous activity,” Roberts said.
“If you want to drive a truck down the interstate, you’ve got to have $750,000 in coverage, even if you’re just carrying eggs,” Roberts said. “But if you want to put this ammonium nitrate into this town next to that school and that nursing home and those houses, you’re not required to carry insurance.”
‘Fair shake’ doubted
more -
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/west-explosion/headlines/20130503-west-fertilizer-was-insured-for-only-1-million-a-fraction-of-estimated-losses.ece
Join the InvestorsHub Community
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
