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INSURANCE

Darwin Professional Underwriters Inc. has announced that it will begin to offer management and professional liability coverage for alternative risk transfer, facilities, captives, risk retention groups, reciprocals and exchanges, as well as privately held, nonrated insurance companies.

D&O

The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. has introduced a next generation "Side A" directors' and officers' insurance policy that addresses emerging risks for executives in public and private organizations of all sizes. Priority Protection Plus is a streamlined insurance policy that broadly protects directors and officers from personal liability when a company cannot or will not provide them with indemnification.

Specialty Coverage

Philadelphia Insurance Cos. has announced the release of its newest product--camp operators coverage. This product focuses on either resident or day camps and can be written on a package or monoline basis depending upon the exposure. The eligible camps include for-profit, nonprofit, community-based and religious-affiliation camps.

Real Estate

Lexington Insurance Co. has announced a first-of-its-kind insurance policy to protect commercial and residential real-estate developers and lenders from losses due to changing zoning ordinances. Zoning Restriction Protector Insurance has been designed for commercial and multitenanted residential real-estate owners and lenders who may incur significant damage to their property and cannot rebuild to the same size due to zoning issues.

Inland Marine

One Beacon Insurance Group has announced a new offering, @vantage for Inland Marine, with 37 proprietary policy forms and more than 80 specialized coverage extensions. The coverage offers business owners solutions tailored to their specific inland marine insurance needs. @vantage is available for a variety of risks, and offers a bucket limit of insurance, which combines a wide array of coverage extensions, such as emergency response service charge, claims expenses, reward coverage, fire extinguisher and automatic extinguishing system recharge, and personal effects--all under a customized single-occurrence limit.

Pandemic

Markel Corp. has introduced a new insurance product, Outbreak Extra Expense Coverage, which is designed to protect companies from a closure of their business premises because of avian flu or various other contagions. The product is targeted specifically at, but not limited to, the food-service industry, medical industry, educational institutions, and property owners and managers.

High-Net-Worth

Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., an insurer of high-net-worth individuals and families in the United States, has introduced a new high-end policy for personal yachts. The policy combines Fireman's Fund's marine underwriting expertise with its personal line of Prestige policies. Prestige Yacht covers yachts, along with their captains and crew, which are typically valued at more than $1 million. The policy is available in every state, and all claims under this policy will be handled by a select group of expert marine adjusters.

TECHNOLOGY

Scheduling

ServicePower, a global developer and supplier of service-chain optimization software, has announced the introduction of a new version of its flagship intelligent scheduling product, ServicePower Insurance Edition, aimed at the insurance market. ServicePower Insurance Edition helps insurance carriers automate the creation and maintenance of optimized schedules across their claims business. This solution could have the impact of reducing operating costs, increasing appraiser productivity, offering better method-of-inspection choices and providing a more responsive service to customers.

Disaster Response

Dynamic Building Restoration LLC, a provider of disaster restoration services, has announced a new program designed to ensure that businesses have available assets and resources immediately after hurricanes and other natural disasters. Dynamic Assurance provides companies with guaranteed response services and materials within 24 hours of an "all clear" given after natural disaster.

Claims Processing

JPMorgan Chase, a full-service provider of cash management, trade finance and treasury solutions, has announced the launch of Healthcare Link, a comprehensive solution for health-care claims processing that enables providers to automate claims reimbursement and reduce administrative costs. The Link allows providers to systematically capture, format, and post paper and electronic claims.

Policy Administration

Whitehill Technologies Inc. has announced the latest release of its IStream Communicator, part of the InSystems product line. InSystems helps insurers get new products to market faster by managing the product lifecycle, from initial drafting of contract language through approvals and policy issuance. The IStream Communicator 2.2 is a part of this process, handling customer service, support and communications once a policy has been issued.

MFX, a provider of technology and IT outsourcing solutions, has announced that it has customized a fully integrated, online front- and back-end policy processing system for Gateway Insurance Company of St. Louis, Mo. The system replaces the company's existing legacy technology, and will integrate third-party software together with MFX's WriteNow online underwriting system and its Web-based claims-handling system, ClaimsAssure--all provided under SecureSource, MFX's data-center outsourcing services.

Mapping

CDS Business Mapping LLC, a provider of online property risk mapping, has announced the addition of a new flood elevation report to its RiskMeter Online service. This report can now make it possible to better understand flood risk for policies that fall outside a flood zone. The tool can deliver flood data such as the FEMA Flood Zone, the distance to the flood zone, the estimated base flood elevation, the elevation at a location, the estimated height above a flood zone, the estimated water depth in a flood zone and aerial photos.

SOFTWARE

Absence Administration

Reliance Standard Life Insurance Co., a top-rated group life and group disability carrier, has introduced RSL LeaveManager, a Web-based software application designed to administer leave and absence programs in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act for cases of 50 to 2,000 lives. RSL LeaveManager provides small- to medium-sized businesses with many of the same benefits previously enjoyed only by Fortune 500 companies.

EDUCATION

Workflow

The ACORD-User Groups Information Exchange of the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development has announced the creation and issuance of its "Productive Agency Visits by Insurance Carrier Marketing Reps: A Guide to Improved Communications on Workflow & Technology." This guidebook is designed to help principals at carriers and independent agencies to communicate with their own staff about essential workflow and technology issues, as well as to improve communications between agencies and carrier field representatives.

Professional Liability

Victor O. Schinnerer & Co. Inc. has announced the launch of The Consultants Guide, a newsletter for business consultants in management, marketing, human resources, public relations, market research and staffing firms. The newsletter is intended to provide education for their potential exposures, along with insight into the benefits associated with professional liability coverage. The first issue explains that most consultants purchase professional liability cover, but may not realize its other benefits, such as contract reviews, access to expert legal advice and defense costs.

October 1, 2006

Copyright 2006© LRP Publications