Commercial insurance policies are as varied as they are numerous. One thing they all generally have in common is coverage exclusions and high hurricane deductibles. New Paradigm Underwriters, LLC is offering a new insurance product called Hurricane PM. Hurricane PM is part deductible buyback policy part gap coverage that gets the insured paid from dollar one. The coverage is triggered by “a named storm exceeding a pre-determined wind speed.” In other words, where traditional wind insurance policies would have a named storm or hurricane deductible kick in, the Hurricane PM coverage activates to cover the out of pocket loss that might ordinarily be the insured’s to deal with.

New Paradigm’s website, although somewhat sparse and containing few details on the coverages available indicates that Hurricane PM is designed to cover those items that are below the deductible and often excluded from traditional wind policies. The company advertises that they serve the following industries:

  • • Condominium/Homeowner Associations
  • • Resorts and Hotels
  • • Golf Courses and Country Clubs
  • • Commercial Real Estate
  • • Mobile Home Parks
  • • Power and Utilities
  • • Energy
  • • Gaming
  • • Contingent Business Interruption
  • • Municipalities and Infrastructure
  • • High Value Homeowners
  • • Transportation
  • • Agriculture
  • • Hospitality
  • • Financial Institutions
  • • Schools, Colleges, and Universities
  • • Healthcare including Hospitals & Assisted Living Facilities
  • • Industrial & Manufacturing
  • • Multi-Family Residential

Without having had any experience with this sort of policy, I can say it is intriguing and anyone representing business with exposure to Hurricane risk should at the very least look into this coverage. Interestingly, the website also lists Flood PM as “Coming Soon.” Given the huge problems and limited coverages available under flood insurance policies I am very interested in seeing what that coverage would entail.