Hurricane Spin-down

August 23, 2004

Nuts & Bolts: ACE USA introduced hurricane spin-down insurance that can be used by the chemical process industry to help reduce the financial costs of closing down plant operations in response to the threat of a
hurricane. This new insurance policy—part of the StormTracker suite of weather insurance products—is reportedly unlike traditional property policies and will respond even if the plant does not suffer property damage as a result of the hurricane. The Hurricane Spin-down policy will pay a pre-determined value to cover the lost income and extra expenses incurred during the period of spinning down and spinning up plant operations. Coverage will be triggered if the probability of a hurricane impacting the covered location reaches an agreed-upon critical threshold based on the plant’s hurricane response protocols. This policy is available for coastal areas in the United States and the Caribbean. The coverage period can extend from a few days to the entire hurricane season. The hurricane spin-down insurance product will be marketed through both retail and wholesale insurance brokers.

Dollars: Minimum premium of $10,000; deductibles are deductibles “in-kind”, e.g. insurance for major (categories 3, 4 and 5) hurricanes only. Coverages for categories 1 and 2 are available, but due to their frequency, are more expensive. Typical policy limits are expected to be between $1 million and $5 million, although higher limits are available upon request, and subject to underwriter
discretion.

Carrier: Illinois Union Insurance Company, non-admitted. Illinois Union is a wholly owned subsidiary of ACE USA, and is rated “A” by AM Best, “A+” by S&P and Fitch, and “A2” by Moody’s.

States Available: U.S. coastal states from Maine to Texas and the Caribbean Islands.

Contact: Michael Luck, (215) 640-5341 or michael.luck@ace-ina.com

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Hurricane

Was this article valuable?

Here are more articles you may enjoy.

From This Issue

Insurance Journal Magazine August 23, 2004
August 23, 2004
Insurance Journal Magazine

Commercial Property