Source: http://ifawebnews.com, May 12, 2014
New Day Underwriting Managers, a specialty intermediary of environmental and construction-related professional liability insurance coverage, released its 2014 Market Update, available to agents and brokers.
The new report, which New Day says is a product of the company’s collective knowledge and expertise, was specifically developed to help agents, brokers and their clients identify optimal solutions in a constantly evolving and highly competitive commercial construction, pollution and environmental insurance marketplace.
“Today’s buyers have more alternatives than ever before with new carriers entering the market in 2013 and even more planned for 2014,” said Jefferey S. Lejfer, president and CEO at Hamilton, N.J.-based New Day. “In addition, there are a variety of new and enhanced coverages that were only available to few in the past.” He added that the goal of the report is to enable agents and clients “to navigate through all the complexities and find the ideal professional liability protection that is unique to their individual businesses and services.”
Through the 2014 Market Update, New Day highlights a marketplace that “continues to thrive” with “organizations of varied shapes and sizes” seeing favorable conditions throughout the year. While the company foresees rates that “will remain relatively flat with slight increases expected on certain lines of insurance,” it also underlines the challenge and necessity of keeping up with an industry where “the one constant is change.” This is due to the continuous “changing, modifying and updating of current policy forms” by carriers as well as the ongoing creation of new and improved policies.
“To even the most sophisticated of insurance professionals, keeping up on all the change can be a tedious task,” offers Jeff Slivka, New Day’s chief operating officer and executive vice president. “This specialty market report is intended to provide the insight, direction and guidance necessary to make informed, knowledgeable buying decisions based on the current state of the marketplace, key trends and a look at the year ahead.”
New Day states the 2014 Market Update offers an in-depth analysis of key forms of construction-related professional liability and environmental coverages such as Architects and Engineers Professional Liability (A&E PL), Contractor’s Pollution Liability (CPL), Contractor’s Professional Liability (CPrL), Owners Protective Professional (OPP), Pollution Legal Liability (PLL), Combined Pollution Legal Liability (PLL) and General Liability (GL) and Combined Environmental Casualty Program (GL/CPL/PL). This includes an overview of the driving industry forces behind the purchase of each coverage, product descriptions, rate information, supplier details and the various conditions that can lead to professional liability claims.
In addition, the report also cites numerous key industry facts and offers market insights into the trends influencing buying decisions in the upcoming year. According to the report:

• Nearly 40 carriers offer some form of CPL, while 15 domestic insurers now provide CPrL with expectations that “nearly every major carrier plans to reinvent, expand, revise, update or modify their policy forms in 2014.” As a result, the trend “toward combining CPrl with CPL will continue in the middle ($50 million to $250 million) and small ($50 million and below) markets where they need to leverage premiums”
• Considering the size of the construction industry and the expense associated with insuring design teams on a project basis, OPP is an undersold product that continues as a cost-effective way for owners to align risks and insure themselves against catastrophic loss
• GL/CPL/PL coverages will undergo a stricter approach to underwriting in a limited marketplace. The premium trend is likely to follow the casualty marketplace and remain highly competitive through 2014
• PLL will remain the foundation of the environmental insurance marketplace with 25 carriers offering various forms of coverage and terms continuing to evolve to include “tailored policies for specific business classes and unique coverages including the disinfection and evacuation expenses for facility-borne viruses and bacteria”
• The A&E PL market will be deeply impacted by the industry’s “increased dependence on technology and sustainability” as the severity of claims continue to trend upwards. Other factors revolve around “some firms chasing down projects that do not match their expertise or in areas beyond normal jurisdiction, which includes riskier projects with demanding contract terms.”

Click here to download the 2014 Market Update.