Hiscox Starts U.S. Terrorism Insurance System

NU Online News Service, Oct. 15, 1:19 p.m.EST?Specialist insurer Hiscox has announced the launch ofa broker extranet system for U.S. clients requiring terrorismcoverage up to $25 million per building.

The Hiscox Terrorism Insurance Extranet system delivers instantquotes and policies for U.S. terrorism insurance business,providing insurance coverage through major U.K. brokers and U.S.partners, said London-based Hiscox.

Following the removal of terrorism coverage from many propertyinsurance programs, this solution from Hiscox, a Lloyd ' s ofLondon terrorism insurer for over 25 years, will enable U.S.brokers and clients to obtain affordable terrorism insurance, thecompany stated.

Key elements of the cover include:

? Up to $25,000,000 limit per building on a full valuebasis.

? No physical damage deductible.

? Only a seven-day business interruption deductible.

? Automatic aggregation, which allows Hiscox to monitor itsexposure in any one geographic area.

? Plain English policy wording.

? Physical damage and business interruption insurance offered asstandalone coverage or as a combined policy.

The Terrorism Insurance Extranet system provides online policieswithin 10 minutes and is expected to be adopted by a number ofbrokers in the U.S., said Hiscox.

"As terrorism has become a fact of life, businesses of all sizesand types are recognizing that they don't have to be the actualtarget of an attack to suffer damage, loss and interruption totheir ongoing business, regardless of their location," the companysaid.

"As part of its service to brokers and end clients, Hiscox willcontinue to work alongside the Control Risks Group to provide thelatest guidance on terrorism risks and how to minimize thelikelihood and impact of an attack," the company said.

Rob Childs, director of underwriting, at Hiscox, commented: "Thekey thing for brokers is that our new extranet service gives theminstant access to capacity for terrorism insurance and then alsoallows them to offer their clients a very clear and straightforwardpolicy wording.

"That clarity of cover for the client, and ease of use for thebroker, offers a simple solution to finding [coverage] that haspreviously been hard to source."

According to Hiscox, to enable the service to work effectivelyand to keep the cost of premiums down, the following are excludedfrom this terrorism coverage:

? Location restrictions in downtown and city center areas ofChicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, SanFrancisco and Washington, D.C.

? Chemical and biological terrorism, cyber terrorism, hoax orthreat of terrorism and nuclear attacks.

Hiscox's Terrorism Extranet service is now available topre-selected brokers throughout the U.S. via their London Lloyd ' sbrokers. Further information on the extranet service is availableby contacting [email protected]