Munich Re is debuting cover that insures the performance of batteries used on an industrial scale to help generate energy. AXA XL and InsurTech startup Assurely will collaborate on insurance coverage designed to cover online money-raising efforts such as equity crowdfunding and security token offerings. Startup insurer At-Bay is launching two coverage extensions designed to fill gaps in property and cyber policies. Zurich Insurance Group and a collaborator will provide the insurer’s customers with new supply chain risk management services.

***

Munich Re is debuting coverage that insures battery performance, something it bills as paving the way for more renewable energy.

The reinsurer markets the cover as the world’s first long-term insurance of its kind. It is insurance that addresses battery manufacturer performance warranties for 10 years, and U.S. battery manufacturer ESS Inc. is Munich Re’s first customer.

Munich Re said the cover lets manufacturers in the booming battery market offer long-term performance guarantees, with that value backed by the insurance coverage. For example, if the repair or replacement costs of defective or weak battery modules exceed a predetermined amount, the insurance then covers the rest. Manufacturers see less of a burden to their balance sheets as a result, and Munich Re said they can also more easily obtain project financing because the maximum costs for any warranties are capped by the insurance cover.

As designed, the coverage can be expanded to protect selected investment projects directly, so that the insurance will pay even if the manufacturer that issued the warranty files for insolvency within the warranty period. The insurance cover is primarily aimed at major projects, such as those to ensure grid stability or to cover peak demand periods. In a second phase, the product will be introduced onto the mobility market—for example, to insure performance of batteries in electric vehicles.

***

AXA XL and InsurTech startup Assurely will be collaborating on insurance coverage designed to cover online money-raising efforts such as equity crowdfunding and security token offerings.

Assurely said in its announcement of the deal that a number of crowdfunding portals have signed on. They include CryptoLaunch, Fundanna, NvstedSilicon Prairie and TruCrowd, which have incorporated Assurely’s technology into their capital raising platforms.

The agreement involves Assurely’s CrowdProtector, which provides issuers protection against investor complaints and lawsuits as well as serves as a communication to investors that they may get their principal investment returned should the issuer misuse the funds, purposefully misrepresent information in their offering documents or steal the money.

Assurely is headquartered in New York and is currently focusing on insurance products that support crowdfunding and digital assets.

***

Startup insurer At-Bay is launching two coverage extensions designed to fill gaps in property and cyber policies.

Its Direct and Contingent System Failure cover extends coverage for downtime and network outage events to fill gaps in property and cyber policies. Reputational Harm provides brand protection and reimbursement of loss of income as a result of negative cyber news stories. These are available immediately for all At-Bay brokers and clients, the company said.

At-Bay’s Direct and Contingent System Failure coverage protects organizations when systems fail unexpectedly, even if the cause was not a cyber attack. Covered risks that could cause unplanned system failure or downtime include human error, software updates and patches, programming errors, and more.

At-Bay’s Reputational Harm coverage reimburses organizations for loss of income or productivity as the result of damaging cyber news stories. At-Bay’s coverage goes above and beyond the market standard by providing protection even if the news was completely contrived.

***

Zurich Insurance Group and riskmethods will provide the insurer’s customers with new supply chain risk management services.

The strategic agreement will enable Zurich customers to identify, assess, mitigate and transfer risks within their supply chain network. The riskmethods product involved in the deal provides full transparency of potential threats that have a negative impact to the business. Examples include geopolitical and economic risks, supplier risks, cyber risks, natural disasters and strikes.

The company’s real-time monitoring of global data sources, including online media, databases and a variety of third-party risk data, combined with artificial intelligence-based technology, automates risk detection and ensures relevancy. Users can accelerate their risk detection and make better decisions in the event of a risk occurrence to avoid unplanned costs, according to the product announcement.

Zurich offers the new supply chain risk management services available to its European customers first, with plans to expand to additional countries across Zurich operations in the United States, Latin America and Asia Pacific.

Sources: Munich Re, AXA XL, At-Bay and Zurich