XL Capital Ltd. has lent its support to the disaster relief effort to help those affected by the earthquake in Sichuan Province in China.

The insurer will fund the rebuilding of a school and library, as well as providing scholarships for children in the affected area. This support will be mainly provided through grants made to the China Youth Development Foundation's (CYDF) Project Hope Emergency Disaster Relief Action, which will co-ordinate the education sector of the earthquake disaster relief.

XL's global insurance risk engineering operation, XL GAPS, will also be offering assistance on earthquake emergency preparedness and other risk services expertise. In addition to grants made by the XL Foundation to support the disaster recovery and rebuilding efforts, the company will match employees' donations to CYDF's Project Hope Emergency Disaster Relief Action.

XL CEO Michael McGavick said: "Given the magnitude of the loss of life and damage caused by the recent earthquake in China, XL is committed to providing relief in this area. It is a tragic fact that children are one of the most affected groups in the disaster area.

"Rebuilding a school and a library, and offering scholarships with funds provided by the XL Foundation, will support children impacted by this tragedy to continue their studies and regain some stability in their lives. By partnering with an organisation like China Youth Development Foundation, XL's aim is to carry out this rebuilding initiative in the most effective way possible."

• Improved protection against the dangers of pollution is the main focus for the latest product launched by XL Insurance, the global insurance operation of XL Capital Ltd.

The insurer has unveiled an enhanced version of its Pollution and Remediation Legal Liability (PARLL) policy with mould coverage included and expanded protection against natural resources damage and third party transportation risks.

Rich Corbett, head of XL Insurance's global environmental unit, said: "For the last 25 years, XL Insurance has stayed ahead of business' risk management challenges, such as the handling of mould risks. We consistently provide brokers and their clients with the highest caliber of environmental insurance, loss prevention services and claims handling, and have become the industry standard to beat.

"As one of the long standing providers of environmental insurance, XL Insurance's experience and longevity continues to garner extremely high customer retention rates.

"It is also this experience and environmental underwriting knowledge that allows us to confidently offer expanded coverage to address our clients' most complex environmental exposures."

The coverage will be underwritten by XL Insurance companies Greenwich Insurance Co. and Indian Harbor Insurance Co.

The PARLL policy provides coverage for loss, remediation expense and legal defence for sudden and gradual pollution conditions resulting at or from insured locations.

The PARLL family of environmental policies, including this enhanced form, addresses the environmental risk management needs of businesses including industrial and commercial real estate, waste management, chemical firms, and property owners and operators.