Price Forbes has launched Accordium, a London market facility that combines property, stock throughput and terrorism cover in a single policy. The broker says it is the first integrated facility of its kind.
The facility is led by Lloyd’s insurer Brit and backed by exclusive automated follow capacity. It targets SME and mid-market businesses across a range of sectors internationally, with total insured values of up to $1 billion.
Businesses that hold valuable stock typically buy property, stock throughput and terrorism cover separately, often from different insurers and under different wordings. Price Forbes said combining them reduces the risk of duplicated cover and of gaps between policies, while making placement more efficient.
The facility uses bespoke wordings with class-specific rates. It also offers a joint deductible, so a client facing a loss that hits more than one section pays one deductible rather than several. Business interruption cover is triggered by stock losses, which Price Forbes said addresses income losses that many traditional property programmes fail to cover.
“As a genuinely integrated solution, Accordium is incredibly efficient, yet its main objective is to eliminate the issues clients commonly encounter with multiple standalone programmes,” said Ash Ganesan, deputy chief executive of cargo at Price Forbes.
Ganesan said the facility combined specialist property, cargo and terrorism expertise with Brit and selected follow markets to give broader protection and more certainty when clients need it most.
Accordium adds to a growing set of proprietary facilities at Price Forbes, which is part of Ardonagh Specialty. Its Lectio cross-class follow facility launched in 2021 with around $350 million of premium in scope, and has since grown to about $1.6 billion after adding casualty in the US, Canada and Australia earlier this year.
Price Forbes manages more than $7 billion of gross written premium and employs around 1,500 people. It has been strengthening its property team, including hiring a Gallagher veteran to build a multinational property practice in July.
The launch fits a wider concern about how separate policies respond when one event triggers several losses. Research published this week by Hiscox found that half of risk managers at multinational companies said their biggest challenge when multiple risks hit at once was co-ordinating across teams, functions or insurance policies.
Stock-heavy businesses are especially exposed to that problem. A fire or terrorist attack at a warehouse can damage the building, destroy stock and halt trading at the same time. Where property, stock and terrorism cover sit under different policies, arguments over which policy responds, and which deductibles apply, can delay settlement. Insurance Business has previously reported on how losses that fall into the gaps between policy wordings often stall claims.
For retail brokers with mid-market clients in distribution, retail, manufacturing or other stock-heavy sectors, Accordium offers a way to simplify programmes that currently span several placements. A single wording and joint deductible should make it easier to explain cover to clients and to resolve claims.
There are trade-offs to weigh. Combining classes on one policy can concentrate a client’s programme with fewer insurers, and it may be possible that limits can be shared across sections. Brokers should check how aggregate limits apply, how the stock-driven business interruption cover is triggered, and whether terrorism cover meets any lender or lease requirements.
The launch also shows how large wholesale brokers are using proprietary facilities to package capacity for retail brokers, adding to the competitive pressure on standalone placements.
