The endorsement gives policyholders up to 72 hours to identify a crisis and file a claim to receive up to $50,000 in crisis management support from Weber Shandwick, an internationally recognized public relations firm with a long history of helping Fortune 500 companies successfully navigate crises. Other insurers' crisis management endorsements often require policyholders to file claims within 24 hours of the crisis event.
"Our endorsement gives policyholders the flexibility to respond to the two broad types of crises faced by most mid-size companies: immediate and emerging," explains Danya Kazakavich, chief underwriting officer for umbrella at Liberty Mutual Insurance's Commercial Markets strategic business unit.
"Sometimes a situation is clearly a crisis that needs immediate action. Other times it can take days for a situation to rise to the level of a full-blown crisis.
Giving policyholders 72 hours to identify a crisis and file a claim lets them effectively manage both types."
Beyond the standard $50,000 limit that is included with the new lead umbrella policy, up to $250,000 of additional crisis management coverage is available.
The new crisis management endorsement is the latest enhancement to Liberty Mutual Insurance's umbrella product. In December of 2010, Liberty Mutual Insurance launched a new customized umbrella form that made it easier for brokers and agents to meet the umbrella needs of their clients by having key coverages -- such as automobile, liquor and employers' liability -- automatically follow the primary policy, and by featuring updated language that was easy to explain.