Insurance Requirements for the Brownfield Incentive Grant (BIG) Program
What are the BIG Program insurance requirements?
The New York City (NYC) Brownfield Incentive Grant (BIG) Program requires Qualified Vendors (QVs) to maintain insurance that is adequate for the nature and scope of services that the QV will perform. BIG reimburses grantees for more than 100 different types of services and activities. The extent and type of insurance required varies according to the type of work performed and the type of QV. Where insurance is required, a QV must provide an insurance certificate specimen and execute an agreement to indemnify the City of New York, the NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), and the BIG Program Administrator as part of the QV application process.
What type of insurance is required?
For a site investigation, an environmental consultant must be a BIG Program Qualified Vendor and carry professional liability insurance in the amount of million per occurrence. For a cleanup, contractors hired to perform remedial work and their subcontractors must carry commercial general liability coverage at $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 in general aggregate. It is recommended that the general contractor or excavation/foundation contractor also maintain a Contractors Pollution Liability policy (CPL) of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence. For the preparation of reports and documents, such as a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment or a deed restriction, QVs including architects, engineers, attorneys and qualified environmental professionals, must carry professional liability insurance in the amount of $1,000,000 per claim and annual aggregate. For grant writing and certain types of BIG grants, including E-Designation remediation grants and environmental insurance grants, no insurance is required.
What if I don’t have Professional Liability Insurance?
The BIG Program only requires professionals to carry Professional Liability (PL) insurance when the standard practice in that industry is to carry such insurance. Thus, grant writers, community-based organizations (CBOs), local development corporations (LDCs), community development corporations (CDCs), community development financial institutions (CDFIs), and insurance brokers are not required to carry PL insurance under the BIG program.
Do all BIG grants require insurance?
No insurance is required for the following grant types:
- Environmental Insurance Grant
- BOA Local Match Grant
- BOA Application Technical Assistance Grant
- Hazardous Materials E-Designation or Restrictive
- Declaration Remediation Grant
