PRODUCT: MemorialPro^™

COMPANY: Brownyard Group, a program administrator that provides specialized insurance coverage for select industry groups

BEST RATING: Coverage is written on paper rated A+ (Superior).

AVAILABILITY: Coverage is available on an open-brokerage basis.

FOCUS: Brownyard Group got the idea for its new cemetery insurance program, MemorialPro^™, from Regan Agency, which has specialized in cemeteries and crematories for more than 35 years through an insurance program available only in New York.

After intensive research, Tory Brownyard, president of Brownyard Group, learned that no national program existed for this unique exposure—and decided that “with our network of brokers and agents throughout all our other programs, this was a tremendous opportunity.”

Currently, most cemetery business is placed through generalist agents on business owners policies that “are not specific to the niche itself,” says Domenic Antinucci III, program manager for MemorialPro^™ at Brownyard Group.

But cemeteries, crematories and mausoleums have unique exposures that require tailored protection. “There’s a lot of emotions involved with the death of loved ones,” Antinucci says. For example, cemeteries may face claims arising from mental anguish related to mistakes made during burials and cremations, in addition to damage to caskets and urns or vandalism of tombstones.

MemorialPro takes care of those unique risks with cemetery professional liability coverage. Although this integral coverage component is part of the package policy—which also includes general liability, commercial property, inland marine, commercial auto, and crime and fidelity—MemorialPro’s cemetery professional liability is written in a separate coverage part so as not to erode the GL aggregate limit.

Brownyard also believes his company’s 65-year experience in insurance and 10-year experience in the landscaping industry gives it a unique perspective on writing cemeteries, whose exposures are often “landscaping-heavy.”

For example, MemorialPro’s commercial property component includes $50,000 of coverage per location for outdoor fence or sign damage due to wind or vehicles, as well as tree cleanup and debris removal due to wind or lightning at $1,000 per tree. “That’s important—you look at any cemetery and there’s hundreds of trees out there,” Antinucci points out. “Each tree poses a risk.”

And because many cemeteries use a variety of equipment such as backhoes and dump trucks “to dig the plots and maintain the land so it’s safe for people to come to it before they bury someone,” Antinucci explains, commercial auto coverage is broad for “who is insured,” covered auto liability, and towing and labor costs.

Available add-ons to the package include directors & officers liability, employment practices liability and commercial excess.

UNDERWRITING: GL limits are available up to $1 million per occurrence or $3 million aggregate. Coverage includes employee benefits liability and an extended definition of “bodily injury,” as well as a broadly defined “additional insured” and broadened definition of “named insured.”

Commercial property coverage encompasses buildings, contents, loss of income and extra expense, and provides $25,000 for water backup of sewers and drains or sump pumps. It also includes equipment breakdown coverage; ordinance or law coverage up to the building limit; coverage for property of others in the insured’s care, custody and control; and fine arts coverage for art glass windows, fragile articles, restoration and retouching.

Inland marine coverage applies to maintenance equipment, mobile equipment, fine arts, computer equipment and data, and covers both scheduled and unscheduled property.

Crime coverage includes employee theft and forgery, money and securities, and computer fraud, and applies to both compensated and non-compensated employees, officers and directors.

D&O and commercial excess liability limits are available up to $10 million.

In addition to a two-page supplemental MemorialPro application, underwriters require completed ACORD applications, loss runs for the current year and three prior years, statements of value for property, schedule of autos, and up-to-date financial statements.

MINIMUM PREMIUM: N/A.

TARGET: Brownyard is targeting “any and all cemeteries, crematories and mausoleums,” Antinucci says. “We’re trying to be the one and only program nationwide for these risks.”

COVERAGE TERRITORY: Connecticut and New Jersey, with plans to roll out to all 50 U.S. states within the next 12-18 months.

CONTACT: Domenic Antinucci III, MemorialPro program manager; Brownyard Group, 21 Maple Avenue, PO Box 9175, Bay Shore, NY 11706-9175; 631-666-5050, ext. 106.

Jacquelyn Connelly is IA senior editor.