The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies said it has begun offering a flood insurance product that insures for higher limits and wider coverage than the federal flood program.

The Warren, N.J.-based company said it was providing the coverage to homeowners who face either inland or coastal exposures.

Chubb said it has begun to offer its admitted excess flood insurance product in 15 jurisdictions, including California, Connecticut, Illinois, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

In April, Chubb had announced that it was writing a first-dollar, primary personal flood insurance policy. The primary coverage is now available in 20 jurisdictions. It provides substantially higher limits ($15 million for home and contents combined) and broader coverage than the National Flood Insurance Program.

Chubb said its new excess flood policy does not follow the contract language of the NFIP policy to determine coverage. Instead, it provides a broader definition of the flood peril, replacement cost valuation for building and contents (versus depreciated value), as well as coverage for additional living expenses.

Peter Spicer, a Chubb vice president and personal insurance new product manager, said the company is now able to provide customers "with the strong financial protection they need from flood-related exposures. Since flooding can happen virtually anywhere, we plan to continue to roll out both our primary and excess flood policies to other states during the coming year."

Other jurisdictions in which the excess policy is currently available include the District of Columbia, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia and Washington.

The primary policy is available in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and Washington.

Prior to introducing its new primary and excess flood policies, Chubb only provided excess flood coverage to homeowners customers on a non-admitted basis.

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