CGM Gallagher Launches Hotel & Resort Liability Insurance Policy.
Product to provide worldwide jurisdiction liability coverage; a growing need for the region’s resorts.

February 5, 2009, St. Lucia ― In a move that CGM Gallagher executives says will help Caribbean hotels to round out their risk coverage, the company has launched a new hotel liability insurance product. The policy’s launch comes at a time when the industry has become far more competitive, leading many hotels to begin offering a wider range of activities to vie for tourist dollars.
 
Unlike other liability policies offered by regional brokers, the CGM Gallagher policy is worldwide jurisdiction liability programme offering cover for claims settled outside of the region ― a likely scenario for many hotels since guests are usually overseas visitors.
 
 “When we did our market survey we realized there really wasn’t anything that offered coverage as broad as can be had under this policy.  Many of our hotels have insufficient coverage for the new risks they face from offering watercraft services, recreational activities, first-aid, catering, excursions and tours,” explained Michael Tomlin, VP Property and Casualty for the Eastern Caribbean, CGM Gallagher Insurance Brokers (Barbados) Limited. “We’ve really taken an interest in the hospitality sector because we realize, insurance-wise, that it is underserved and we wanted to bring something to the market that offered a high level of cover, featured A+ security and was competitively priced.”
 
In order to determine a premium, Tomlin said, CGM Gallagher would undertake a vulnerability to liability risk for each hotel to be insured. That assessment would determine the hotel’s vulnerability to risks from the activities offered to guests.
 
The new program is already garnering big name support in the region.
 
The 825-member hotel strong, Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), recently endorsed the policy.  Tim Grace, Director of Marketing and Commerce, CHTA said the association’s support of the policy stemmed from its desire to help its members keep their insurance coverage sufficiently up to date and their businesses protected against the risks that come with operating a property in the Caribbean.
 
“The hotel and hospitality business is a really dynamic industry, especially in the Caribbean where we’ve set the pace for hospitality service innovation from hundreds of front desks across the region. As a CHTA associate member, CGM Gallagher has shown its proficiency in designing cover for the liability risk faced by our region’s hoteliers and so we are really proud to count them as insurance partners,” Grace said. 
 
Industry insiders say there is huge potential for the product across the region. Most Caribbean nations count tourism as one of its major foreign exchange earners with growth in the sector attributable to both regional and international investors. According to the ‘KPMG 2008 Caribbean Hotel and Condominium Benchmarking Survey’ there are approximately 127 new projects in the pipeline with approximately 35,000 rooms under development; half of which are expected to open before 2010. The CGM Gallagher policy will provide coverage to a maximum of US$100,000,000.
 
About the CGM Gallagher Group: As the largest and one of the oldest insurance brokers in the English-speaking Caribbean, the CGM Gallagher Group has solidified its position in the market by matching world-class risk management solutions with technical support via experienced insurance professionals. The Group is one of the Caribbean’s first, true, regional insurance brokers with offices in Jamaica, Barbados, St. Vincent and  St. Lucia; licenses in Grenada, Antigua, Anguilla and Dominica and correspondents in Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, the ABC Islands and Puerto Rico.
 
Last year, the CGM Gallagher Group handled in excess of US$120,000,000 in premiums.