Aon Delivers Insurance Coverages Suite for Middle Market

Aon Corp., a provider of global risk management and consulting services, has introduced an integrated suite of insurance products designed to bring middle market technology companies the coverage enhancements historically only available to large corporate clients.

Known as Aon Preferred for Technology, the new product suite has been developed by Aon in conjunction with Zurich North America's Commercial Middle Market Technology team in response to client requests for a global solution that can efficiently meet the insurance needs of middle market companies. These companies share many of the same risk characteristics as Fortune 500 firms, and have been challenged in the past to address these risks in a cost-effective manner. Aon Preferred for Technology provides broad coverage to help mitigate catastrophic exposures that exist by doing business around the world.

Through the global presence of both Aon and Zurich, Aon Preferred for Technology can address risks virtually anywhere in the world a client operates.

"All too often, creating an optimal risk management program to meet the needs of a global middle market technology company has involved patching together various products, coverage and services from a myriad of carriers, leading to potential uninsured gaps, cost inefficiencies and burdensome administrative requirements," said Michael Flanagan, managing director of Aon Risk Services' Technology Practice. "We spoke to clients and discussed the need to make the insurance purchasing process easier and more integrated while minimizing the risk of coverage gaps resulting from the use of multiple markets."

The suite has been tailored to meet the rapidly evolving needs of technology companies to include directors and officers’ liability, marine cargo, property, professional liability and workers compensation. Following are principal examples of the numerous coverage enhancements made to Zurich's insurance products:

• Contingent product recall coverage for expenses associated with the failure of a supplier to indemnify the insured for product recall expense

• Blanket limits for property, business interruption and stock

• 365 days of extended period of indemnity

• Earthquake sprinkler leakage coverage

• Marrying of the general liability and errors & omission policy around professional liability

Contingent product recall coverage represents a major product innovation for technology companies that rely on third parties to develop in part or whole an element of the company's product. This coverage, which will reimburse the insured for recall expenses should the third party be unable to provide reimbursement, addresses what has long been one of the industry's most concerning risks.

"The tailoring of each insurance policy has been an important step in the process of bringing Aon Preferred for Technology to market," said Tom Fitzgerald, senior managing director of Aon Preferred and a chief architect of the new product suite. "Especially in an industry like technology, which was built on the concept of 'innovate or evaporate,' it is critical that we solve client concerns by developing new solutions that push the envelope beyond what we previously thought was possible."

Aon Preferred for Technology is suitable for multiple segments of the technology industry, including electronics, information technology, factory automation, semiconductors and application software.

The new product suite is being offered as part of Aon Preferred—a platform designed to deliver innovative insurance offerings that are both product- and industry-specific. The Aon Preferred team has created panels of insurance carriers that either have broad interest in a specific line of coverage or broad appetite for a specific industry.