Managing general agent Patricia Sleicher thinks she has the most interesting job in the industry: insuring events of any description and size, in any locale, against weather disruptions.

Sleicher, president of Global Weather Insurance Agency Inc. of East Setauket, N.Y., is no novice to the industry: She has been in the business since 1974, starting her own agency in 2000.

“You get your share of [weather-related] claims, whether it's a TV commercial or a sales promotion [that falls victim to rain]; or a concert, fair or festival. We do any type of event” that inclement weather can impact, Sleicher says.

Events can range from a small church fair to a movie set. “They're all affected by the weather and they will lose money if it rains,” she explains, adding that the agency insures against tornadoes, hurricanes—“any weather event.”

Payment of a claim is based on the number of inches of snow or rain, the temperature above or below a predetermined number, or the velocity of wind, she says, adding that the agency works mostly with AIG and Lloyd's.

Cost for coverage varies, depending on the probability of the weather event happening, the location of the event and other factors.

“A commercial in Los Angeles in July is going to be a lot cheaper than a commercial in Los Angeles in January, because that's their rainy season,” she explains. “And each place is different as to the probability of something happening. That's what the rating is based on, the probability of something happening, based on its happening prior.”

A location that has never seen a tornado, for example, would have a very low rate, and the rate would be much higher in a tornado-prone area.

While occasionally the rate of coverage might determine when a commercial or movie would be filmed, she says, most often filming needs to take place at a certain time of the year in a specific location to achieve an effect.

“Some might want snow and they'll say 'can you guarantee there's going to be snow at this place, at that time of year?'” she notes. “They wouldn't be going to Colorado, on a mountain in the middle of winter, if they didn't think there was going to be snow, but there are times when it might not snow. So that's what they're protecting.”

Currently, she says, outdoor events, most of which take place from April through October, are tapering off, except in the warmer climates where fairs, festivals and concerts occur year round.

“Now we're going into the snow season, where we [insure] municipalities for the snow; where we do restaurants for 'income stabilization,' we call it,” she says.

If a restaurant does most of its business on a Friday or Saturday night, for example, and during the winter months it snows a certain number of weekends, meaning customers can't get there because of the weather, the restaurant is covered.

“So it evens out. We do [income stabilization] every year, and it's a great tool to increase our sales.”

UNIQUE APPROACH TO PROMOTIONS

Another way to increase sales, for both retailers and Sleicher's business, is through weather-related promotions: Anyone who purchases a product at a participating business during a prescribed time period stands a chance of having the full price of that item refunded—if, for example, it happens to snow on a day pre-chosen by the business owner.

A number of jewelers, car dealers, electronics stores and other businesses have taken advantage of the promotion, she says.

Some examples Sleicher gives on her website:

If it snows three inches or more on Christmas Day, anyone who purchased jewelry between Nov. 30 and Dec. 19 gets a full refund on their purchase price.
If the high temperature is below 70 degrees on July 4, anyone who purchased a mobile home between June 1 and June 30 gets a full refund on their purchase price.
If it rains one inch or more on Labor Day, anyone who purchased a car between August 15 and August 30 gets a full refund on their purchase price.

“It's a fun thing. It gets everybody in the town talking about it, everybody is looking at the weather,” she says. “We paid one jeweler $400,000 last year because [it snowed more than the prescribed amount] on Christmas day—in of all places, North Carolina!”

Find out more at www.globalweatherinsurance.com.

Special Reports /

Rain, Snow, Wind Drive N.Y. Weather Agency

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