Zurich announces broad financial services insurance options

Zurich has announced two new insurance products for financial services, which the company said provides the broadest specialist financial services insurance coverage available in Australia.

Zurich’s Investments Structures Insurance Solutions provides specialist cover for investment managers, while the company’s Fraud and Professional Liability Insurance is aimed at general financial institutions such as banks, credit unions and building societies.

It is the first time fraud and professional liability exposures have been available in a single policy, according to Zurich, and provides extensions not normally provided as standard, including mitigation costs cover following both fraud and professional civil liberty, identity theft cover and international program capabilities.

“The pressure to perform for clients creates enormous demands upon investment managers’ time, so we’ve developed our Investment Structures Insurance Solutions to meet their regulatory requirements in an effective manner but also offering competitive pricing,” said Zurich’s head of global corporate business, Kai Dwyer.

The policy would save clients from purchasing separate products and potentially having gaps or overlaps in their cover, as well as avoiding the administration of running two products, Dwyer said.

“Zurich has tailored its solutions to provide five primary insuring clauses bundled in any combination, which includes directors and officers' liability, company reimbursement, entity securities, professional liability and crime.”

Zurich’s Investments Structures Insurance Solutions includes options relating to investment structures and funds managed under mandate, as well as broad crime cover including fraud, theft, counterfeiting and forgery.

“The products were developed as much as anything by Zurich specifically to send the message that we’re open for business as a primary underwriter of financial institution exposures in Australia.”