The mitigation banking industry, including all forms of compensatory mitigation, is a highly specialized space presenting unique insurance and bonding opportunities. Conservation United offers comprehensive turn key insurance solutions addressing both financial assurance on mitigation banks and your company’s suite of traditional commercial insurance lines.
- Casualty Insurance for Short Term Financial Assurances: The Army Corps of Engineers and other regulatory agencies require short term financial assurances in order to approve Mitigation Banking Instruments and Mitigation Plans. Casualty insurance is one of four forms of assurance defined by federal regulation. Conservation United has partnered with the nation’s leading architect of specialized environmental insurance policies to develop a financial assurance policy that meets all the requirements of the regulatory agencies. Features of Conservation United’s casualty insurance policy for financial assurances on mitigation banks include:
- 10-Year Policy Term: The Army Corps of Engineers prefers multi-year insurance policies because they eliminate the uncertainty of annual renewals. Conservation United’s Casualty Insurance Policy for Financial Assurance on mitigation banks can be bound for 1 – 10 years up front.
- No Collateral: Unlike Bonds and Letters of Credit, casualty insurance as a form of financial assurance never requires collateral, allowing mitigation providers to keep their capital fluid for new investments or available for adaptive management.
- Applicable to both the Construction and Maintenance/Monitoring periods.
- Flexible policy language, allowing Conservation United to adapt to unique requirements of specific districts of the Army Corps of Engineers or other regulatory agencies
- Same day Certificates of Insurance. Financial Assurance is often the final step before a mitigation bank is approved and credits are released. Conservation United produces certificates of insurance to demonstrate coverage the moment we receive confirmation that premium is received.
- Ability to represent the financial assurance policy to Interagency Review Teams, District Engineers, and Corps Counsel. Chris Baker has spent decades negotiating federal grants and agreements with land management agencies and is uniquely qualified within the insurance industry to respond to suggestions by regulatory agencies.
- Fluent in the language and hydrological concepts of mitigation and conservation banking. Conservation United Co-Founder, Chris Baker, is a lifetime conservationist who has participated in dozens of planting, riparian restoration, meadow restoration and other associated ecological restoration projects.
- Performance Bonds: While there are certain inherent advantages to Conservation United’s casualty insurance option (no collateral, 10 year policies, etc.), we also provide performance bonds to satisfy short term financial assurance requirements at competitive rates. Mitigation bankers whose districts have yet to review and approve insurance may expedite MBI approval with a bonding option. Conservation United also offers performance bonds to contractors implementing construction activities on mitigation and conservation banks, providing an added layer of protection to the client, the Army Corps of Engineers, and ultimately to the public and ecosystem.
- Commercial Insurance for Mitigation Banks: Conservation United has created a program of traditional lines of commercial insurance serving the unique needs of the mitigation banking industry. Mitigation Bank “sponsors” are often single purpose entities formed under the auspices of a parent organization. Conservation United offers policies that cover multiple LLC’s as additional named insured under one general liability or “package” policy, streamlining and simplifying coverage for all your mitigation banking entities.