Abstract

Over the past several decades, businesses have been placed under great pressure from government and the public to avoid environmental loss and damages. To mitigate environmental loss and damages, companies purchase environmental insurance, which protects companies from direct financial liability and transfers the risk to the insurance agency. Thus, insurance companies to have a vested interest in preventing payouts to businesses by ensuring that their clients protect against environmental losses.

Past literature in the field of environmental management has paid little attention to the role of insurance companies and their agents in the prevention of environmental loss and damage. However, there is anecdotal evidence that insurance agents can play an active role in helping firms identify and prevent environmental health and safety issues. Focusing on the printing industry, this study aims to better understand the role insurance agents play in helping firms manage their environmental performance. This study found that insurance companies view themselves as institutions that enhance environmental health and safety performance of manufacturing facilities by preventing environmental health and safety risks. However, it is not clear that printing firms likely do not believe insurance companies contribute to preventing environmental health and safety risks at their facilities. Thus, while there is potential for insurance companies to act as non-public governance institutions that regulate and improve the environmental performance of firms, this potential may not be being realized to its fullest extent.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Insurance agents--Professional relationships; Insurance companies--Environmental aspects; Disaster insurance; Printing industry--Environmental aspects; Environmental health; Industrial hygiene

Publication Date

7-10-2019

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Science, Technology and Public Policy (MS)

Department, Program, or Center

Public Policy (CLA)

Advisor

Sandra Rothenberg

Advisor/Committee Member

Christopher Bondy

Advisor/Committee Member

Lisa Greenwood

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

STPP-MS

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