ISO Introduces Suite of Mobile Business Interruption Options

July 31, 2013 / 3 min read

JERSEY CITY, N.J., July 31, 2013 — ISO has filed new coverage options to address the business interruption exposures of vehicles and mobile equipment. ISO is a member of the Verisk Insurance Solutions group at Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK).

Traditional business interruption coverage typically responds when loss or damage occurs at a specific location. Commercial policyholders have long been able to protect their revenue stream from adverse events that occur at their brick-and-mortar locations, as well as events that occur at the premises of suppliers and other dependent locations. ISO’s new coverage options will enable business interruption coverage to respond to the exposures presented by vehicles and mobile equipment while away from the policyholder’s location.

The evolution of the commercial enterprise has led many companies to rely on vehicles and mobile equipment to support their business operations, according to Kevin Thompson, president of ISO Insurance Programs and Analytic Services.

“Vehicles and mobile equipment can generate a significant percentage of a business’s revenue, and when such property is damaged or destroyed, there’s a potential for business interruption,” said Thompson. “This exposure can be especially significant when the equipment is customized and cannot be repaired or replaced quickly in the event of a loss. There’s a need in the marketplace to address this exposure, whether the insured is a small business owner running a mobile pet-grooming business or food truck or a larger business that depends on multimillion-dollar well-drilling or geophysical exploration equipment.”

To provide its customers with maximum underwriting flexibility, ISO is introducing the new coverage option as a series of similar endorsements under its commercial property, commercial auto, commercial inland marine, and businessowners programs.

This approach gives each insurer the ability to choose the appropriate line to place the coverage based on underwriting philosophy, risk appetite, and the nature of the exposure being insured, as well as the preferences of the insured seeking the coverage. The endorsement for each line of business is designed so that business interruption coverage for each risk would be provided under only one line of business.

“For instance, if the insured already has business interruption coverage at the premises, whether under a businessowners or commercial property policy, an insurer has the option to extend that coverage to vehicle and mobile equipment exposures as well,” explained Thompson. “On the other hand, the commercial auto or commercial inland marine option enables writing mobile business interruption coverage within the same policy that insures the vehicles and mobile equipment for physical damage, as well as in situations where the insured does not have premises-based operations at all.”

The new options, along with associated advisory rating material, have a planned February 2014 effective date for commercial property, commercial auto, and businessowners. In addition, mobile business interruption coverage will be filed later this year under ISO’s Capital Assets (Output Policy) and Agricultural Capital Assets (Agri-CAP®) programs and will be available through ISO’s Inland Marine Handbook.

About ISO
Since 1971, ISO has been a leading source of information about property/casualty insurance risk. For a broad spectrum of commercial and personal lines of insurance, the company provides statistical, actuarial, underwriting, and claims information; policy language; information about specific locations; fraud identification tools; and technical services. ISO serves insurers, reinsurers, agents and brokers, insurance regulators, risk managers, and other participants in the property/casualty insurance marketplace. ISO is a member of the Verisk Insurance Solutions group at Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK). For more information, visit www.verisk.com.

Release: Immediate

Contact:

Erica Helton/Giuseppe Barone
MWW Group
201-507-9500
ehelton@mww.com
gbarone@mww.com