Around the P&C insurance industry: Nov. 4, 2015

Kansas City, Mo.-based Lockton Cos. has opened an office in McLean, Va. This office in Northern Virginia is an extension of Lockton's existing operation in Washington, D.C. The new office is at 8280 Greensboro Drive and is expected to be in operation by Dec. 1.

New York City-based insurance professional services company Marsh is now offering Marsh IO+, an enhanced excess casualty policy form for companies with significant product and other mass tort exposures. Marsh IO+ is an occurrence-reported excess casualty form that includes the “integrated occurrence” feature found in standard occurrence-reported forms. The feature allows insureds to batch claims into a single occurrence, potentially saving them significant retention costs. Marsh IO+ also includes features such as separate aggregate and unaggregated auto liability limits, expanded pollution coverage, acceptance of standard umbrella submissions, and automatic extended reporting coverage. Marsh IO+ supports up to $300 million in limits excess of attachment points, depending upon risk profile, from as low as $10 million to a projected average of $25 million.

The Minneapolis-based Insurance Marketing & Communications Association (IMCA) will present the next edition of its Leadership Webcast Series on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 2 p.m. EST. The hour-long live broadcast, “Protecting the Brand — Trademark Due Diligence and Protection for Marketers,” will be presented by Sharon Toerek, principal at Toerek Law. Toerek's discussion will focus on trademark legal considerations related to brand work, including due diligence and trademark clearance, the definition of a trademark and how it can be protected. The program is free for all IMCA members and cost $49.95 for nonmembers. Registration for the program can be done at IMCA Webcasts.  

New York City-based middle-market private investment firm Odyssey Investment Partners LLC announced that an affiliate has completed its acquisition of New York City-based Integro Ltd., an international insurance brokerage and risk management firm. Since its inception in 2005, Integro has developed specialties in Aviation, Benefits Consulting, Entertainment, Financial Institutions, Healthcare, Marine/Energy, Professional Services, Real Estate/Construction, Reinsurance, Retail/Consumer Services and Trade & Logistics/Transportation.

Des Plaines, Ill.-based Applied Client Network, an organization of educators and advocates for users of Applied Systems software for the insurance industry, has recognized insurance carriers and their staffs for support of leading-edge agency-carrier interface technology. The awards were presented at Applied Net 2015, a conference held in Las Vegas on Oct. 19-22. The top honor, the Interface Excellence Award, was given to Central Insurance Cos., based in Van Wert, Ohio, in recognition of the carrier embracing interface at all levels of agency interaction, making interfacing a top priority. The Canadian Interface Excellence Award, was presented to Toronto-based Intact Insurance, and recognizes that the carrier that has gone above and beyond in interfacing in its marketplace. Tracye McCarthy of Boston-based Liberty Mutual and Bryce Fredrick of Edmeston, N.Y.-based New York Central Mutual received the Dedication to Interface Award.

Quebec-based insurance communications management software company Xpertdoc Technologies Inc. received the MercadOr Award for Market Diversification from the Society for International Development of Lanaudiere, a regional organization located in Quebec, specializing in international development and commerce. The MercadOr Awards are granted each year to companies established in the Lanaudiere region that have been successful in global expansion.