AIG Forms New Commercial Umbrella Unit

American International Group has announce the formation of AIG Specialty ExcessSM, a new commercial umbrella and excess casualty underwriting unit dedicated to insuring specialty and difficult-to-place classes of business, including but not limited to: transportation construction, including residential and commercial contractors and sub-contractors, educational institutions, and public entities. AIG Specialty Excess will respond to all in-force business, as well as new and renewal business currently handled by C.V. Starr & Co. If more information, please send an e-mail to or contact Charles Abruzzo at (212) 458-3859, .

AIG Has Management Liability Program for Small Caps

National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa, a member company of AIG, has introduced a coverage package intended to help protect small-capital public companies from management liability exposures. The ManagementRisk Protector is available to companies with under $75 million in market capitalization. MRP offers a choice of several management liability coverages, including directors and officers liability, employment practices liability, and pension trust liability. For an additional premium, policyholders can obtain independent director liability insurance as well. For more information, please send an e-mail to or visit www.aignationalunion.com.

AIG Introduces Confidential Data Policy

American International Group is introducing a policy that covers companies’ liability if they are accused of negligently handling private or confidential data. The Security & Privacy Insurance policy offers limits of up to $15 million, with a minimum retention of $25,000. The policy is being offered by AIG unit National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa. Coverage may include the failure of computer security, or the wrongful release or disclosure of information by the insured, the insured’s employee, or another third party. Policy features include coverage for defense costs within policy limits, duty to defend coverage, and coverage for certain regulatory actions. For more information, please visit www.aignationalunion.com, or send an e-mail to .

Beazley Adds Wage and Hour Coverage to EPL Policy

Beazley has expanded its employment practices liability coverage by adding wage and hour coverage. The wage and hour extension is intended to protect companies from miscalculations in employee pay, such as employee claims that arise due to the possible miscalculation of overtime pay. It is available by endorsement and on Beazley's stand-alone EPL policies, as well as on BeazleyOne, a private-company liability offering that includes EPL and directors and officers coverage. For more information, please contact Carrie Brodzinski, EPL Product Manager, at (860) 677-3750.

Beecher Carlson Announces Program for Residential Developers and Builders

Beecher Carlson has announced the release of Precision, an integrated brokerage and captive solution designed specifically for residential developers and builders. Precision combines the expertise of risk management consultants with custom-designed alternative risk-financing solutions to provide far greater control of the insurance process and significantly reduce costs for builders and developers. An essential component to Precision is “Exact,” the continuous improvement of the captive structure over the life of its existence mixed with intense internal audits and reviews. For more information, please contact Tracy H. McAllister, VP, Marketing & Public Relations, at (404) 460-1427, .

GE Insurance, Klein Offer Hotel Insurance Program

GE Insurance Solutions has introduced an insurance program for business hotels. The program is offered through West Patterson, N.J.-based Klein Insurance Services, and it is designed for hotels specializing in business and short-stay leisure travelers. Any hotel or motel is eligible, provided it is not considered a destination resort, a residential hotel, or a convention center. The program includes coverage for liquor liability, garagekeepers liability, and hired and non-owned auto liability. The available limits are $20 million for property and $1 million per occurrence/$2 million general aggregate/$2 million products aggregate. For more information, please contact Jonathan Klein, Secretary/Treasurer of Klein Insurance Services, at (520) 615-9090.

Guy Carpenter Announces Development of Online Risk Management Platform

Guy Carpenter & Company, Inc. has announced the development of i-aXsTM, an online risk management platform. This new technology provides insurance executives with the ability to leverage vast data repositories for better and faster decision-making, right from their own desktops. The i-aXs platform provides Guy Carpenter clients with immediate access to their own exposure data, along with a unique suite of Web-enabled reporting tools that are customizable to their needs. Among the many features being developed as part of the i-aXs suite of tools: advanced data mining capabilities; in-depth portfolio analysis; automated management reporting; user-friendly mapping tools; satellite imaging; and real-time weather tracking. For more information, call Alexis Levenson at (917) 937-3264, or visit www.guycarp.com.

Guy Carpenter Publishes Review of Cat Bond Market

Guy Carpenter & Company, Inc. has announced the publication of The Catastrophe Bond Market at Year-End 2005: Ripple Effects from Record Storms, a study of natural catastrophe bond transaction activity, trends, and market dynamics. According to the report, there was unprecedented growth across the catastrophe bond market in 2005, largely driven by U.S. hurricane activity. According to the study, the catastrophe bond market recorded total issuance of $1.99 billion in 2005, a 74% increase over the $1.14 billion issuance in 2004, and 15% higher than the previous record of $1.73 billion issued in 2003. In addition, total risk capital outstanding had increased to $4.90 billion by the end of 2005, a 21% increase over the $4.04 billion outstanding at year-end 2004, and a 42% increase over the $3.45 billion at year-end 2003. Copies of the report are available for download at www.guycarp.com. For printed copies, please send an e-mail to .

Mid-Continent Expands Hospital Med Mal Program to All 50 States

Mid-Continent General Agency is expanding its medical professional and general liability insurance program for small hospitals to all 50 states. Hospitals with under 100 staffed beds are eligible, as well as critical access, rural/community, and certain specialty hospitals. The program is backed by various carriers with “A” XV (Excellent) ratings or better. Risk management services add another feature to this new offering. Limits are available up to $10 million per occurrence and $10 million aggregate, with claims expense outside the limit. A minimum deductible of $1,500 applies. The professional liability is written on a claims-made form, and the general liability is occurrence. For more information, please visit www.Mid-Continentga.com.

Philadelphia Insurance Offers Fitness Center Product

Philadelphia Insurance Cos. is offering an insurance product for fitness and wellness studio owners. The product covers wellness and fitness studios that offer one-on-one fitness training or group fitness training including aerobics, pilates, personal training, martial arts, and elite athlete training, among others. It offers business owners policy property and general liability and professional liability coverages. In addition, an enhancement form is available that increases coverage offered by the business owners policy. Some of the enhancements available include additional limits for interior glass and sewer backup and broadened bodily injury. For more information, please call (610) 617-7900, or visit www.phly.com.

Professional Underwriters Adds 50 New School Coverage Enhancements

Professional Underwriters, a national program administrator for public entities, announced that it has added 50 new coverage enhancements to their school program. The new Property, GL, and Auto coverage enhancements are designed specifically to meet the needs of public and private schools. The enhancements include a broad definition of “insured,” the flexibility to modify coverages to fit customer needs, and the ability to provide greater limits and deductibles, as well as replacement cost on buses. For more information, visit www.professionalunderwriters.com, www.textbookinsurance.com, or www.communityworksinsurance.com.

Quadrant Develops Harassment and Discrimination Product

Quadrant Insurance Managers is introducing a new primary coverage to the marketplace, monoline third-party harassment and discrimination coverage. This product covers businesses for discrimination, harassment and wrongful eviction committed by an employee against a customer and/or member of the public. Small to mid-size businesses with high public/customer interaction such as hospitality, banking, restaurant, retail, higher education, and healthcare are some of the targeted industries. The product will offer a stand-alone policy with minimum premiums beginning at $5,000 for a single location carrying a $1 million aggregate limit of liability. Punitive damages (where insurable) and defense costs are included in the limits, and the insurer is rated “A” by A.M. Best. For more information, please contact Karen Harris at (614) 226-4418.

RMS Has New Version of Weather Derivative Trading System

Risk Management Solutions has released version 5.0 of its Climetrix weather derivatives trading and risk management system. The upgrade includes a number of new features designed to enhance the user experience in work flow, process, and reporting capabilities. Climetrix 5.0 introduces a capability that allows users to schedule automatic analyses and have the results delivered to them via e-mail or sent to a client-specified FTP address. Additionally, it includes an option that enables users to price “covered call” or “covered put” contracts as single structures and generate a new report that shows the source of any changes in portfolio valuation from one analysis to another. Among other features, Climetrix 5.0 allows users to generate premium and settlement invoices for all relevant counterparties and contracts in any portfolio. For more information, please visit www.climetrix.com.

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