Specialist & Emerging Risks

Why specialist risks are moving to centre stage

Three forces are driving the growth of specialist insurance covers for mid-market companies. First, contract requirements — principals and head contractors are increasingly mandating cyber, environmental and other specialist covers in their contract conditions. Second, regulation — mandatory data breach notification, environmental protection legislation and modern slavery reporting all create compliance exposures that didn't exist a decade ago. Third, the risk landscape itself — cyber attacks, climate events and supply chain disruptions are no longer edge cases.

What we advise on

Cyber liability — data breach response, business interruption, social engineering fraud and regulatory defence costs. Increasingly mandated in government contracts, principal requirements and the lack of cover may be considered a failure of directors’ duties.

Environmental impairment liability — covering gradual and sudden pollution events, remediation costs and third-party claims. Required for companies operating on contaminated land, near waterways or in environmentally sensitive areas.

Parametric insurance — index-based covers that pay out automatically when a defined trigger is met (such as rainfall exceeding a threshold or wind speed exceeding a level), without the need for traditional loss adjustment. Useful for construction and mining companies exposed to weather-related delays.

Product recall — covering the costs of recalling defective products, including notification costs, logistics, replacement costs and loss of profit. Relevant for companies manufacturing or distributing physical products.

Supply chain and contingent business interruption — covering revenue loss arising from disruption to key suppliers or customers, even when your own operations are unaffected.

Our approach to specialist covers

We don't recommend specialist covers by default. We assess your contract requirements, regulatory obligations and operational risk profile to determine which covers are genuinely needed and which represent unnecessary cost. Then we structure the covers that are needed to integrate seamlessly with your core property, liability and management liability program.

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