Special Report: Top 10 Innovative P/C Insurance Products

In the past few years, dozens of property/casualty insurers have announced innovative protections for risks involving new technologies, current economic concerns, personal and family relationships, home-based small businesses, and more.

This is a new era in property/casualty insurance. Innovation is breaking out all over, said Roger Hurtvig, president of the Insurance Innovation Institute (III) in Warwick, Rhode Island.

The P/C industry has a reputation of being slow to embrace new ideas but the IIIs own measure of innovation the P/C New Products Index has been rising steadily for the past year and hit a record high of 75 out of a possible 100 points last month.

It seems that with every day comes a new idea, Hurtvig said. The new products are anchored in traditional insurance principles but they speak to a new generation of risks. Its very exciting.

So what are some of these new ideas that have put the industrys unhip reputation at risk? Insurance Journal searched the database at http://www.MyNewMarkets.com to find the Top 10 Most Innovative P/C Insurance Products:

1. Pay-As-You-Park: Private passenger auto policy from Progresso. Rates are based on how long the vehicle is not driven. Policyholders are sent a small white box that attaches to the front drivers side wheel. The box contains a meter that is loaded with an initial estimated premium. The box calculates premium discounts for every 15 minutes the vehicle is parked but adds surcharges for every 15 minutes the vehicle is in motion. Pay-As-You-Dock boat policy also available.

2. GreenMaker: R.W. Barkley is selling a product liability policy for home or garage-based businesses that manufacture cosmetics, clothing, jewelry, toys, computers or other products using primarily recycled, upcycled, natural or organic materials.

3. Commercial Specific Liability (CSL): A low-cost option to the Commercial General Liability (CGL), the CSL lets business owners specify the exposures they want covered. The final ISO form is not expected until December but some examples of actions expected to be covered include: nailing into a water pipe, electrical wiring or cable; causing a fall due to the failure to warn of water, change in elevation (a step), or intoxication; and releasing a pollutant that the insured did not bring to the job site.

4. Vanishing Coverage: A multi-year package policy from Hubb Insurance available only to owners of high-end coastal properties and antique autos. The premium is lowered by the same amount the deductible is raised each year until the deductible reaches the policy limit or the premium hits zero, whichever happens first.

5. Home Business Interruption Protection (HBIP): Revelers Insurance has a business interruption policy for any service business conducted from the home, from hackers and day traders to massage therapists and insurance agents. Covers loss of Internet connection, telephone service, daycare, HVAC as well as refrigerator breaks.

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Special Report: Top 10 Innovative P/C Insurance Products