Broadest specialist financial services insurance coverage available in Australia - Zurich launches insurance solutions for financial institutions and investment managers

6 May 2010

In a climate of ever-increasing potential exposure and a complex regulatory environment in financial services, Zurich Financial Services Australia (Zurich) has today announced the launch of two new insurance solutions.

Designed for a broad range of financial institutions and investment managers, the new cover provides the broadest specialist financial services insurance coverage available in Australia.

Zurich has launched its Zurich Investment Structures Insurance Solutions, a specialist cover specific to investment managers. The Zurich Fraud and Professional Liability Insurance, for a range of financial institutions, is the first time fraud and professional liability exposures are available in a single policy from a local underwriter.

Mr Kai Dwyer, Head of Global Corporate Business at Zurich, said, “The pressure to perform for clients creates enormous demands upon investment managers’ time, so we’ve developed our Investment Structures Insurance Solution to meet their regulatory requirements in an effective and efficient manner but also offering competitive pricing.

“Zurich has tailored its solutions to provide five primary insuring clauses bundled in any combination, which includes Directors & Officers Liability, Company Reimbursement, Entity Securities, Professional Liability and Crime.

“Financial institutions have some of the most complex operating structures of any sector in Australia. Accordingly, we have developed a tailored market-leading product that covers internal fraud, external fraud and professional civil liability. For the first time in Australia, financial institutions can access insurance cover for their fraud and professional liability exposures in a single policy from a local underwriter.

“Combined, Zurich’s new insurance solutions have been packaged for the financial institutions sector and investment managers to ensure they have the broadest range on the market,” said Mr Dwyer.

Zurich’s Fraud and Professional Liability, for financial institutions such as banks, credit unions, building societies, provides numerous covers and extensions not normally provided as standard cover including:

• Mitigation costs cover following both fraud and professional civil liability
• Identity theft cover
• International program capabilities.

Zurich’s Investment Structures Insurance Solutions’ market-leading professional liability cover includes:

• creation, operation and management of any investment structure
• funds managed under mandate
• marketing of investment structures or mandates
• portfolio management and asset allocation services
• professional supervision
• administration, custodial or registry services
• responsible entity or trustee services
• publications.

The cover also includes extremely broad crime cover:

• internal (employee related) crime
• external (third party related crime) including:
  • theft
  • forgery
  • fraudulent alteration
  • counterfeiting
  • computer fraud.

ENDS

For further information contact:

Rob White
Corporate Communications Manager
Zurich Financial Services Australia
Business ph: +61 (02) 9995 1557
Mobile: +61 (0) 411 881 887

Jane Legge
Communications Manager
Zurich Financial Services Australia
Business ph: +61 (02) 9995 1591

Zurich Financial Services Australia provides wealth protection and wealth creation solutions, offering general insurance for commercial customers, and life risk, investments and superannuation solutions for corporates and personal customers. Zurich's solutions and services are primarily accessible through insurance brokers, financial advisers and other intermediaries in Australia and New Zealand.

Zurich Financial Services Australia is part of the worldwide Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich), an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe as well as in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and other markets. Founded in 1872, the Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It employs approximately 60,000 people serving customers in more than 170 countries.