Markel Corp. unveiled new primary insurance cover for biomedical and life sciences companies. Catastrophe modeling firm RMS opened a new office in Sydney, Australia, to help support clients’ expansion in the Australian and New Zealand markets.

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Markel Corporation is now marketing an insurance product for biomedical and life sciences companies in the U.S. primary insurance segment.

The cover provides product liability, professional liability, general liability, clinical trial liability, and related medical professional liability coverage. Target markets include the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, dietary supplement, and laboratory instrument and equipment industries. Markel already has an established book of life sciences business in the excess markets, but this is the company’s first primary offering.

According Matthew Huels, managing director of Markel’s casualty product line leadership team, making primary coverage available to both wholesalers and retailers is a natural progression in extending the company’s life sciences product line. Coverages are available middle-market life sciences companies, including start-ups, research, clinical trials and product manufacturing. Coverage is written on a surplus lines basis and is available in all 50 states.

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Catastrophe modeling firm RMS has opened a new office in Sydney, Australia, as part of its drive to support clients’ expansion in the Australian and New Zealand markets.

The focus will be to help insurers and reinsurers adopt new models and to advise the region’s superannuation funds as they invest in insurance-linked securities (ILS).

The office’s managing director is Dr. Pierre Wiart, who will be responsible for client relationships and market development in Australia and New Zealand.

Discussing RMS’ modeling capability for this region, Wiart said the company’s earthquake HD model for New Zealand has been “offering clients advanced insights into seismic risk since it was released last year.” In addition, the cyclone and earthquake models for Australia will be updated next year, he noted.

In addition to Sydney, RMS other offices in the Asia-Pacific region are in Delhi, Beijing, Tokyo and Singapore.

Sources: Markel Corp., RMS