Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Expands Terrorism and Political Violence Insurance in the U.S.

Bioterrorism Week

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Bioterrorism Week -- Given the recent tragic events in Europe and Virginia, Allianz Group's specialist corporate insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty® (AGCS) now offers bespoke coverage that protects U.S. businesses when faced with loss related to terrorism and political violence both at home and overseas. Specifically, AGCS provides customizable protection beyond coverage provided by the U.S. government's Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (TRIPRA) and includes a broader definition of what constitutes a terrorist incident, supported by an established local team of experts (see also Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty).

Under the enhanced policy guidelines, incidents committed by a single attacker or group, acting alone or on behalf of an organization for political, religious or ideological reasons, are covered. An event does not require U.S. government certification for an act of terrorism to be recognized.

"Whether a volatile protest or "lone wolf" attack, the alarming and changing nature of such events cause significant disruption to entities located in the vicinity of an incident, and these Non-Damage Business Interruption (NDBI) occurrences are expected to increase," said Christof Bentele, Head of Global Crisis Management for AGCS. "Our policy addresses clients' need for solutions that protect their assets, income and reputation against these unpredictable situations and evolving threats."

Businesses can suffer significant losses following acts of terrorism or political violence, even if they are not directly impacted. Following an event, civil and/or military authorities can shut down affected areas for significant periods of time resulting in direct loss of revenue. As investigations are conducted, access to certain areas may be prohibited, resulting in revenue loss for businesses in those areas. Therefore "denial of access" extensions are available, covering loss sustained when such access to and/or from property is prevented due to a lockdown.

Extensions for "customers and suppliers" are also offered as the risk can extend to a client's customer or supplier base, with indirect losses in the form of delays in delivery or receipt of goods from suppliers. Although supply chain management is critical to any business, those most frequently exposed are in the retail, manufacturing and hospitality segments.

"Following an act of terrorism or political violence at an insured location, unless a company is able to implement business continuity plans immediately, it can take months to get back to regular commercial activity," added Adam Posner, Senior Underwriter for Terrorism & Political Violence in North America for AGCS. "AGCS has not only built up a strong local team here, but we can also rely on the global reach of Allianz to respond to incidents wherever they occur."

Policies can be customized to address the following risk areas: Standalone Terrorism & Sabotage, Strikes, Riots and/or Civil Commotion, Full Political Violence (including War), Terrorism Liability, Event Cancellation (including threat) as well as Nuclear, Chemical, Biological & Radiological (NCBR). Limits, deductibles and sublimit amounts are also customizable.

AGCS's specialist claims team has an established track record of handling claims from small domestic losses to complex international events. The Terrorism/Political Violence offering is part of the AGCS Crisis Management product range, which provides insurance and services for product recall and contamination, crisis management scenarios and hostile environments, as well as the aforementioned terrorism and political violence.

Beyond covering financial losses, AGCS also offers its clients crisis management assistance services on a 24/7 basis, regardless of location, through its partner company red24. For additional information regarding AGCS's terrorism and political violence coverage, please visit AGCS Crisis Management. About Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) is the Allianz Group's dedicated carrier for corporate and specialty insurance business. AGCS provides insurance and risk consultancy across the whole spectrum of specialty, alternative risk transfer and corporate business: Marine, Aviation (incl. Space), Energy, Engineering, Entertainment, Financial Lines (incl. D&O), Liability, Mid-Corporate and Property insurance (incl. International Insurance Programs).

Worldwide, AGCS operates in 32 countries with own units and in more than 160 countries through the Allianz Group network and partners. In 2016, it employed more than 5,000 people and provided insurance solutions to more than half of the Fortune Global 500 companies, writing a total of €7.6 billion gross premium worldwide annually.

AGCS SE is rated AA by Standard & Poor's and A+ by A.M.Best.

Keywords for this news article include: Politics, Terrorism, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty.