As the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season approaches, FloodFlash, an insurtech known for its sensor-enabled parametric flood insurance, has announced the launch of a new product designed to offer business interruption (BI) coverage in the United States.
According to the firm, the launch comes at a time when a hyperactive hurricane season is anticipated, with experts forecasting extensive property damage and BI losses that could severely impact businesses and communities.
The new product, named Flood BI, aims to address a significant coverage gap. Currently, many businesses and public entities find themselves unable to secure BI coverage under existing frameworks, as it is not included in National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies, and private carriers infrequently provide standalone BI coverage.
The Flood BI product features flexibility in the use of parametric claim payments, allowing businesses to address various aspects of BI, including non-damage BI and denial of access. Its rapid-payment claims are also consistent with FloodFlash’s core offerings, ensuring claimants receive the full value of their policy within weeks of a flooding event.
Meanwhile, policyholders can expect coverage limits of up to $5 million per location, with a potential increase to $10 million subject to underwriter approval. There is also a blanket limit of $10 million for policies covering multiple locations.
The sectors eligible for Flood BI coverage include hotels and hospitality, sports and leisure, retail, healthcare and assisted living, real estate, manufacturing, municipalities, and education. The policy is triggered by a pre-agreed water depth, measured by FloodFlash’s proprietary sensors.
Rich Coyle (pictured above), FloodFlash US commercial director, emphasized the need for this type of cover.
“Flooding causes billions of dollars in losses across the US every year yet only 20% of those losses are covered by insurance—and a massive part of that uninsured loss comes from business interruption. The BI options on the market are too few and offered too rarely,” Coyle said.
In a bid to fill the void, FloodFlash explained that it will extend support to a broad range of organizations vulnerable to flooding, not only in the Gulf and Eastern seaboard but across the entire US.
“We couldn’t be more excited to launch Flood BI. It takes the same principles of the FloodFlash product and applies them for a truly under-served section of the market. To the thousands of businesses at risk of flooding that rely on their premises to provide goods, hospitality, healthcare and more, we can now say Flood BI is here to help,” Coyle said.
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