ACE Combines Business, Specialty Coverages in New BOP

PRODUCT: BOP

COMPANY: ACE Commercial Risk Services

BEST RATING: A++ (Superior)

AVAILABILITY: Coverage is available through appointed agents and brokers.

FOCUS: ACE Commercial Risk Services, the small business unit of ACE Group, unveiled a new BOP that combines mainstream commercial lines products with specialty coverages. ACE also rolled out a new online underwriting platform, ACE Solutions Fast Track^SM, to make the new BOP easily available to agents.

It’s “a BOP with the specialty coverages all on one platform,” says David Charlton, president, specialty and micro products, ACE Commercial Risk Services. The new offering “ties together existing ACE specialty coverage parts with a new comprehensive business owner’s package in a fully automated quote/issue environment.”

Charlton points out that both agents and customers could benefit from the “convenience” of customized coverage for separate lines of insurance through one policy “instead of having to go to two different carriers.”

For example, says Charlton, a broker serving a nonprofit organization would typically need to separately place a BOP as well as D&O coverage. “They can now do that on one system in under five minutes and issue it, all on one policy,” he says. “They take it from two policies with two carriers down to one policy with one carrier.”

UNDERWRITING: ACE’s new BOP can incorporate management liability, professional liability, international casualty, environmental, inland marine, small umbrella and specialty commercial. The company’s appetite “stretches across a wide variety of industries,” Charlton says.

Meanwhile, the new ACE Solutions FastTrack offers agents “limited application requirements” and integration of third-party providers that can pre-fill some data in “live time,” including address, number of employees, property limits and other public information. “It really reduces the amount of keystroking and data entry they have to do and takes away that traditional application approach where you have to gather all that information,” Charlton explains.

Through the online portal, agents can submit risks of up to $6 million in revenue for most segments and up to $5 million in total property values; obtain quotes and bind special cause of loss and replacement cost options for qualifying risks; and access $1 million/$2 million primary liability limits as well as $5 million umbrella limits. Coverages for cyber, EPLI, E&O and environmental risks also are available. A commercial umbrella policy can be written over another carrier (rated B++ or better) policy or excess of ACE primary coverage.

MINIMUM PREMIUM: $250.

TARGET: The carrier will “write over 300 types of small businesses,” Charlton says, including small commercial, professional offices, professional services, liquor liability, vacant buildings and land, truckers and small retail stores. Typical risks are small business owners with fewer than 50 employees and less than $10 million of revenue. EPLI is available for firms with as many as 500 employees.

Through a recently enhanced D&O liability program, ACE will also cover nonprofit and social services organizations on the BOP—“anything from a social service agency to a chamber of commerce to a trade association to a church,” Charlton says. He adds that due to its presence in numerous countries, ACE also can cover international business and nonprofit exposures on the BOP.

COVERAGE TERRITORY: All U.S. states.

CONTACT: David Charlton, president, specialty & micro products; ACE Commercial Risk Services, 3 County View Road, Malvern, PA 19355; 404-302-1001.

Ronimarie Acord is an IA contributor.