Pen Underwriting launches flexible e-traded terrorism cover for UK businesses and property owners

Published On : 02 Feb 2021

Pen Underwriting today announces the launch of its new standalone terrorism proposition – aimed at UK businesses and property owners – that has been tailored to cover realistic scenarios based on a broad definition of terrorism, and which can be traded in multiple ways to best suit brokers and their clients.

Backed by A-rated security , Pen’s terrorism product has been designed as an easy, quick-to-quote, e-traded proposition via Acturis or the Pen Portal with minimum referral triggers, although it can be underwritten in a conventional manner if the broker prefers.

It is live and trading on Acturis as of this week and able to be underwritten on a transactional basis, with the e-trade launch on Pen’s Portal to follow next month.

The proposition’s follow-form basis enables cover to dovetail with underlying associated policies, meaning cover is both streamlined and comprehensive. Significant extensions incorporated – such as emergency accommodation costs and brand rehabilitation, as well as non-damage-related interruptions to business caused by denial of access to premises due to an incident in the vicinity or as a result of a verified threat – also mean superior cover is offered as standard.

By allowing clients to select which properties from their portfolio they wish to insure against terrorism and using a broad definition of terrorism, which includes sabotage and attacks committed by groups or lone individuals for a wide range of purposes, the policy provides a greater certainty of response to realistic scenarios while keeping pricing as competitive as possible.

The creation of an e-traded terrorism solution for the mainstream UK market signifies a broadening of Pen’s product suite to support brokers keen to trade more widely with Pen.

Simon Perry, Head of London Real Estate at Pen Underwriting who has led the development of its tailored terrorism solutions, said: “To maximise the value of our terrorism solution to UK businesses and property owners we stripped back to basics our current proposition and rebuilt it from the ground up for the multiple distribution channels that we support.

“The nature and impact of terrorism incidents has evolved over time and we wanted to ensure that we continued to protect businesses that were both directly and indirectly affected by an incident as well as help them manage the impact of those losses, such as through brand rehabilitation. It’s all about creating a policy that’s likely to respond in the first place and then providing the critical coverages that businesses really need.”

Nick Wright, Chief Business Development Officer at Pen Underwriting, said: “When we announced our ambition to become a £1bn underwriting and distribution business last July, we made it clear that investing in the creation of more specialist niche practices and expanding our e-trade capabilities would be a big part of that.

“Our new quick-to-quote, e-traded terrorism insurance solution for UK businesses and property owners, which builds on the success of bespoke terrorism insurance for housing associations and the public sector, is a great example of how we are broadening the Pen product suite. That’s good news for brokers keen to trade more widely with us while sticking to our promise of making sure we are easy to do business with.”

*Independent ratings from AM Best and S&P Global Ratings, as at February 2021.