About 5 a.m. on Sept. 29, 2024, an employee at the Bio-Lab chemical warehouse outside Atlanta heard a popping sound, a tell-tale sign that stored chemicals had come in contact with water and were reacting.
Within 90 minutes, the huge warehouse was ablaze, setting off explosions and the release of a black, toxic cloud that forced the evacuation of 17,000 people and the closure of hundreds of businesses in and around Conyers, Georgia.
Verlan Fire Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Hanover Insurance Group, paid a $20 million claim brought by Diversitech, an air-conditioning manufacturer and