Insurance Journal Forums

Greeting to the Group,

I am a specialty program Wholesaler and I have been approached by one of my Agents that has an account interested in purchasing Business Interuption Coverage in the event of a Pandemic (bird flu or similar) Goverment Odered Work Shut Down.

I have a market that is interested in writing the coverage, but would like to produce a reasonable volume of it in order to spread the risk.

I would like any opinions regarding the marketability of such a product, assuming the pricing would be reasonable.

The cause of loss would be a Federal or State Agency orders the business to shut down in order to stop the spread of a Pandemic.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

Thom Bradshaw
TCBTI,LLC

You would think this would be a hot topic, but I suspect you'll find it is not. Much like Earthquake coverage in California, while the insured might think it's a good idea in theory, when presented with premiums commensurate with the risk, they will pass.

We offer a Food Borne Illness program for restaurants, and again, wouldn't you think most restaurants would purchase it? They don't, and then when there is a problem, they are uninsured and looking to their retail agent's E & o for coverage. Frustrating, but true.

Given that we have all heard so much hype about a Bird Flu pandemic, without much to back it up, I would suggest trying to place this on a one-off basis and move on to something more profitable.

I had the same impression about the coverage starting out, but I am beginning to get a fair amount of interest suprisingly enough.

Thank you for your input!