Chubb Group of Insurance Companies' offering of a private alternative to the National Flood Insurance Program providing coverage with broader terms and higher limits will likely draw competition, an underwriting expert said.

Gail McGiffin, the global lead on underwriting at Accenture, said Chubb's ability to offer this coverage is likely the end result of the company's investment in better "location intelligence" and underwriting technology.

The company may have competition in the future, she said, because the insurance industry is "seeing growing investment in location intelligence" by insurers.

Chubb announced yesterday that it has begun offering flood coverage for up to $15 million covering both the home and its contents, with broader limits than those offered via the NFIP.

Ms. McGiffin said that Chubb's new offering is a positive for the insurance industry. "It's always good to see new types of coverage go into the market," she said, adding that success for insurers "is about continually innovating coverage that homeowners need."

Chubb has traditionally sought customers in the affluent market, said company spokesman Mark Schussel, and the new coverage is designed for those whose needs go above and beyond that offered by the NFIP.

Previously, those customers had only the option of purchasing initial coverage from the NFIP in addition to excess coverage through companies such as Chubb or Lloyd's.

"Our customers not only needed the higher limits, but they also needed the broader coverage," he said, adding that Chubb's new policy, known as personal flood insurance, is a "first dollar" policy.

The Chubb policy provides up to $15 million in property coverage, including home and possessions, compared to a maximum of $250,000 for homes and $100,000 for contents through the NFIP. Under the policy, the term "flood" is also more broadly defined to include losses confined solely to the policyholder's premises.

The coverage, known as personal flood insurance, is currently available in Colorado, Illinois and Arizona.

Mr. Schussel said the company hopes to expand availability of the coverage to 15 states by the end of this year, including Florida. By the end of 2007, he said, Chubb hopes to be offering coverage in 30 states.

Chubb is seeking to expand the coverage into areas where it has a considerable amount of business, including the Northeast, explained Mr. Schussel.

The policy likely won't be available in areas where the company is less active, he added, mainly because developing the coverage for those areas and bringing it to market would "be expending a huge amount of resources for little return."

Much of the company's business, according to Mr. Schussel, is likely to be outside of the areas that have been hardest hit by floods over the past two years. "We believe there is a considerable market outside of the flood zones," he said.

Mr. Schussel also noted that "we have a habit of not saying 'no' universally," and the company would look at each potential exposure "on its own merits" before determining coverage.

Mr. Schussel attributed the new coverage to Chubb's "fantastic internal appraisal capability" that allows it to better assess the risk associated with a property.

Special Reports /

Chubb Won't Be Alone With Flood Program: Expert

Related Stories

Recommended For You