INSURANCE MARKET UPDATE
Venture Programs, a West Chester, Pennsylvania, program manager, is offering a business income policy that covers hospitality businesses for loss of income due to airborne diseases. The policy will be marketed initially to golf clubs and country clubs under Venture Programs' Preferred Club Program before being extended to other hospitality businesses under the company's Preferred Hospitality Program.
The policy covers loss of income due to forced closure as a result of a terrorist-related anthrax attack, Legionnaires disease or radon gas. The closure would need to be ordered by the state health authority or the Centers for Disease Control. The policy also provides coverage for a maximum of six months with a limit of $250,000. Underwriters at Lloyd's provide the coverage.
Coverage is on a nonadmitted basis in every state except Illinois, where it is offered on an admitted basis.
"Currently, loss of income due to airborne disease is specifically excluded from every business income policy, including coverage from carriers offering new terrorism-related insurance," says Philip J Harvey, managing director of Venture Programs. "This product represents the first opportunity for companies and the insurance brokers they rely upon to protect the ongoing viability of a business, at a time of increasing risk throughout the world."
Further information is available at www.ventureprograms.com.
Philadelphia Insurance offers BOP as companion to professional liability policy
Philadelphia Insurance Companies introduced a businessowners policy (BOP) to be offered in conjunction with the companies' professional liability coverage for various professional firms. Targets for the new coverage are professional firms occupying less than 5,000 square feet, including small law firms, accounting firms and consultants.
The BOP is offered with limits of up to $1 million. Additional coverages available by endorsement include employee dishonesty, money and securities, mechanical breakdown, outdoor signs and interior glass.
Only those policyholders with Philadelphia's professional liability coverage are eligible for the BOP.
The policy is currently available in AZ, CA, CT, CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, MA, MI, MN, MO, NC, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TX and WA.
For more information visit www.phly.com or call (800) 873-4552.
Florida approves HO credits for wind loss mitigation
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approved an ISO program which provides homeowners premium credits for wind-loss mitigation features installed in residential properties. The approved program was an update to a previous wind mitigation program that provided credits for protective devices over building openings.
The new program includes:
* wind mitigation credits for up to 26% of the wind portion of the homeowners premium
* a minimum credit for only those risks that previously qualified for, and received, a credit under the state's now-obsolete Windstorm Protective Device Rule (shutters)
* a 15% credit for residential properties built after January 1, 2002. The credit applies only to communities that participate in ISO's Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS) program and meet certain enforcement standards
* a 25% reduction to credits contained in the BCEGS program.
ISO's BCEGS program, developed in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, evaluates the effectiveness of local building codes to help identify how well homes and commercial structures in a given community will hold up to natural disasters.
Fireman's Fund enters crop insurance partnership with Wells Fargo unit
Fireman's Fund Insurance Company has established a partnership with Rural Community Insurance Company (RCIC), a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, to administer and reinsure crop insurance nationally. The partnership will provide service for the nation's largest book of business within the Federal Crop Insurance Program.
Subject to regulatory approval, Fireman's Fund AgriBusiness will transfer all renewals on its entire crop insurance book of business to Rural Community Insurance Services (RCIS), parent of RCIC, which will service the policies and manage distribution channels. Fireman's Fund will serve as the lead reinsurer and will work with RCIS's current reinsurance partner, Empire Insurance Companies.
John Owens, president of Fireman's Fund AgriBusiness, said, "This business relationship expands our business interest into a much larger book while capitalizing on our in-depth under-standing of the crop insurance industry as a reinsurer."
Mike Connealy, president of RCIS, characterized his company as "widely-known for providing local insurance agents and farmers a wealth of information to help them run a successful business, and for providing innovative tools that take advantage of the latest technology." *