Sales tools for agents and brokers from NIF Group and Zurich, and a survey of risk managers buying directors and officer liability insurance from Towers Perrin were also announced this month.

A handful of announcements on miscellaneous insurance specialty products for unique risks crossed the newswires as well, including one for entertainers from U.S. Risk and another for truck brokers from AIG.

NIF Group, a Manhasset, N.Y.-based program administrator, announced the launch of a new service aimed at the specialized needs of nonprofit organizations--NIF Nonprofit Advisor.

NIF said the service provides a combination of fund-raising, insurance and other solutions that are aimed at making independent insurance agents more competitive and enabling nonprofits to better achieve their ultimate missions.

The service, according to NIF, will help agents separate their firms from the pack of insurance-only agents to an elite class of true nonprofit business advisors, with access to a world-class platform of services to help the largest nonprofit organizations through the smallest.

The new service is focused on first providing real-time information on the nonprofit community to advisors. Then, it helps these advisors benchmark their existing and prospective nonprofit clients' business operations and programs, and finally derive a set of exclusive solutions to address their needs.

Some of the key components of this service include capabilities in the areas of funding, insurance, health care, trusts & asset management, marketing strategy, business development, prospecting and sales support, NIF said.

Dan Mogelnicki, NIF's nonprofit chief, said, "We believe it takes a special advisor to help these [nonprofit] organizations make the right decisions," adding that NIF is offering access to resources available to NIF due to its significant scale in this arena.

"Positioning themselves as overall advisor to their clients and becoming a trusted advisor across many needs will become a leading advantage for many of the top insurance agencies nationally," he said.

Focusing on the needs of insurance agents and brokers serving technology builders, Schaumburg, Ill.-based Zurich North America launched a dynamic, distributor-focused Web site to provide a central source for the latest applicable news and educational resources.

Zurich said user-friendly navigation on the site, www.techinsurance.zurichna.com, allows agents to access resources and tools they need to advise customers in the information technology, electronics, communications, factory automation and medical devices segments.

David Allred, director of Zurich's Middle Market commercial business unit's technology initiative said, "Our goal in developing this site is to change the game in how insurance Web sites operate."

"Instead of just listing products and services for distributors to sell, we have created a site that can actually help them write business," he added.

The Web site enables agents and brokers to click on easy-to-use drop-down menus and find answers to almost every issue imaginable connected with prospecting, writing and profiting from technology business, Zurich said, highlighting the following content features:

o "Loss Scenarios" that identify real-life potential technology risks and exposures.

o "Knowledge Hub" that houses a series of articles on the latest technology topics--written by industry experts as well as Zurich's technology and risk management professionals.

o A "Go Global" section that addresses the unique needs technology companies face when doing business internationally.

o A "News and Trends" news aggregator service that tracks 24/7 all relevant technology stories in the business media, providing users with real-time Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds of major technology news and features.

Towers Perrin, a global professional services firm in Stamford, Conn., is calling for data submissions from buyers of D&O insurance for its 2008 Directors and Officers Liability Survey.

The deadline for participation is Friday, August 29.

The 2008 survey, the 31st in a series of studies on D&O liability insurance purchasing trends, has been condensed, with more than one-third of the questions from the 2007 edition eliminated, Towers Perrin said, noting that the amount of time needed to complete the questionnaire has been greatly reduced.

The changes have made it more time-efficient to contribute to a comprehensive survey of critical benchmarking data, according to Michael F. Turk, senior consultant and director of the survey.

Buyers interested in participating in the 2008 Directors and Officers Liability Survey should request a secure link from [email protected], then visit Towers Perrin's Web site, www.towersperrin.com, to complete the electronic questionnaire.

Findings from Towers Perrin's 2007 D&O survey, which had nearly 3,000 participants, showed the continuing softness in the D&O market through lower premiums, higher limits, lower retentions and more coverage enhancements.

The survey also revealed that few companies with international exposures were purchasing local D&O insurance policies. Other trends revealed were that independent directors liability coverage was something they were considering but very few had purchased, and that half of the survey participants bought their fiduciary liability coverage with their D&O policy.

Lexington Insurance Company, a unit of AIG Commercial Insurance in New York, announced Lexington Truck Broker Liability Insurance, a primary liability insurance policy that addresses liability risks of truck brokers, who bring together shippers needing to transport goods and authorized motor carriers.

Lexington said that a recent federal court decision ruled that shippers and brokers failing to use "reasonable means" to perform background checks on motor carriers before they are retained could be liable for accidents caused by the motor carriers.

In response to the increased liability risks, Lexington designed Truck Broker Liability Insurance to provide bodily injury and property damage liability coverage to protect the truck broker if the broker is brought into a legal action caused by a truck accident involving a motor carrier.

David Bresnahan, executive vice president of Lexington noted that this is a unique contingent exposure, which called for the creation of a primary product, complimenting Lexington's established auto capabilities and services.

Lexington Truck Broker Liability Insurance is part of the AIG Transportation Solutions practice and adds to AIG Commercial Insurance's suite of insurance products for the transportation industry, ranging from primary and excess auto liability to cargo and vehicle physical damage coverage.

Dallas-based U.S. Risk Underwriters, a subsidiary of U.S. Risk Insurance Group Inc., a managing general agency and surplus lines wholesaler, has launched VOCAL, a new product designed for self-employed individuals in the entertainment industry.

VOCAL provides coverage options for under a master policy, and features a convenient online system that provides users with the responsiveness necessary in this fast-paced industry, the MGA said.

Coverage is written through carriers rated "A" or higher by A.M. Best.

Lorna Greenwood, program manager at U.S. Risk Underwriters, said "With well over 200,000 venues, film and recording studios in the United States, there is a strong need for affordable occupational accident and contingent liability coverage for a broad range of classes."

According to Greenwood, many self-employed persons may not want to cover themselves 100 percent of the time, but the venues and studios that contract them usually require coverage. With VOCAL, participating venues and studios receive automatic additional insured status while workers have the option of only purchasing coverage when they need it.

U.S. Risk also offers annual and other longer-term coverage options.

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