Owners Protective Professional Indemnity (OPPI)

1. Register your agency if not already registered
2. Download the Owner or Contractors Pollution Liability Project Specific Application
3. Complete and submit to Douglas Stepenosky, via email: dstepenosky@distinguished.com

OPPI Insurance Coverage Highlights:

• Proactive assistance and resolution for a protective claim.
• Professional coverage for third-party claims arising from an act, error, or omission in rendering subcontracted design services.
• Occurrence pollution coverage for third-party claims arising from subcontracted contracting services, non-owned disposal sites, and transportation.
• Coverage for ADA and FHA Expenses, Bankruptcy Litigation Expenses, Building Information Modeling Expenses, Disaster Management Costs, Subpoena Expenses, and Litigation Expenses.
• Credit towards SIR for the use of approved mediation.
• Additional legal costs are provided outside the limit.
• Target project classes include (but are not limited to): Civil Construction, Commercial, Educational, Habitational, Healthcare, Hospitality, Industrial, Institutional, Retail, and Warehouse.
• Owners Protective Professional Indemnity (OPPI) Coverage provided by SiriusPoint

OPPI insurance coverage capacity:

• Limits of liability up to $25M/$25M and a target minimum premium of $50,000
• Project policies with terms up to five (5) years plus ERP and completed operations periods up to twelve (12) years

To get more information on our Owners Protective Professional Indemnity (OPPI) coverage, submit business or communicate with an underwriter, contact our team via email: dstepenosky@distinguished.com

Distinguished Claims Motto:
"Supporting our Insureds every step of the way from claim to resolution."

Claims Philosophy:
At Distinguished, we prioritize our Insureds' needs and provide prompt attention to every claim submitted. Our in-house Claims Team of experienced attorneys is dedicated to addressing environmental, construction, and professional-related claims efficiently and effectively.

Emergency Response:
We partner with Cura to offer 24/7 emergency response services nationwide. Cura handles spill response management, regulatory notifications, waste disposal, and reporting for our Insureds.

Claims/Underwriting Collaboration:
Our Claims Team works closely with underwriters to understand our products and policies and bring real-time insights on emerging risks to help meet our Insureds' changing needs.

Claims Contact:
environmentalclaims@distinguished.com
(844) 388-4040

Distinguished Environmental and Construction Professional Claims Team
Our in-house Claims Team comprises attorneys with nearly 50 years of combined experience handling environmental, construction, and construction professional-related claims. We have experience handling all these claims, such as spills and chemical explosions, requiring coordination with FEMA, trade contractors’ daily operations, and design-build construction projects. Our team handles claims from large Fortune 100 corporations to small family-owned businesses. Each Insured, regardless of size, receives the same excellent customer service.

Kanan Sheth
Vice President, Head of Claims
Kanan joined SiriusPoint (now Distinguished) in 2022 as the Claims Manager for the Environmental Division, bringing nearly 20 years of experience in managing both litigated and non-litigated environmental, construction, and construction professional claims. Her expertise spans from coordinating with FEMA for large-scale chemical incidents to overseeing daily operations of trade contractors and design-build projects resulting in pollution and professional claims. Prior to SiriusPoint, Kanan managed environmental claims at Zurich American Insurance Company and Endurance American Insurance Company (now Sompo International). She holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Delaware and a J.D. from Pace University School of Law.

Laura Berney
Vice President, Claims Counsel
Laura joined SiriusPoint (now Distinguished) in July 2021, bringing nearly 30 years of experience managing complex long-tail exposure claims involving property damage and bodily injury, including construction defect, asbestos, environmental, and product liability claims. Before joining SiriusPoint, Laura held positions at renowned carriers such as CIGNA, Chubb, Global Indemnity Group, and Armour Risk Management. At Chubb, she specialized in handling ceded international reinsurance claims for multinational insureds. Laura holds adjuster licenses in 28 states and previously practiced law at a leading Philadelphia firm. She earned her B.A. from Pennsylvania State University in 1987 and her J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 1990.