PFAS Litigation Begins ‘Tip of the Iceberg’ Turn Toward Insurers

By Daphne Zhang | Bloomberg Law | March 8, 2023

Read the full article by Daphne Zhang (Bloomberg Law)

"Insurance companies say they fear that PFAS is on the cusp of becoming a major issue for the industry, with the specter of health and environmental damage claims dragging them into court battles that, until now, they’ve managed to avoid.

Historically, insurers have argued that they’re not liable for pollution from the laboratory-created substances dubbed “forever chemicals"—some of which didn’t exist when older policies were written. But businesses are starting to push back after finding it impossible to secure coverage for PFAS contamination.

“There’s going to be a huge variety of fights about insurance related to the PFAS litigation,” said John Ellison, a partner at Reed Smith who represents policyholders. “We are at the tip of the iceberg.”

Topics:

• ChemicalsPFAS
• Products
• SourcesManufacturing facilities
• Sources3M
• SourcesDuPont/Chemours
• Regulations
• Litigation
• Monitoring Data
• PFAS Uses