IBM Sues Liability Insurers Over Environmental Remediation Costs

Many carriers—including units of Chubb Ltd. and Travelers Cos.—that insured IBM Corp. in the 1960s owe coverage for more than $900 million spent on environmental remediation and litigation costs, the tech company said in a lawsuit.

Commercial general liability policies issued between 1961 and 1970 don’t contain pollution exclusions and thus afford coverage for the environmental claims, IBM said in its complaint filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of New York.

Since the 1980s, the tech company has been subject to governmental and regulatory directives to remediate alleged contamination surrounding plant sites where hazardous ...