US insurance major The Hartford has launched new credit and political risk insurance products targeting corporations, financial institutions and private equity firms with international exposures.

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Image: Hartford launches new credit and political risk insurance products. Photo: courtesy of The Hartford.

Hartford said that the new insurance products will help such companies deal with their credit and political risks.

The newly launched political risk insurance policy has been designed to help globally operating corporations and private equity firms protect their investments and assets located overseas from different political risks.

The property and casualty insurance giant said that the policy protects the companies from expropriation, political violence, breach of contract and currency inconvertibility among others.

According to Hartford credit and political risk insurance practice head Jared Kotler, companies operating in emerging markets could face various political risks, including acts of expropriation or confiscation of assets by a foreign government, which are otherwise not covered under the usual global insurance policies.

Kotler said: “Expanding our product capabilities to include credit and political risk insurance helps The Hartford better meet the holistic needs of its customers operating globally. These customized insurance solutions can help ensure that our clients have the appropriate insurance policies in place to adequately protect their business interests around the world.”

One of the exposures covered by the new political risk insurance policy is for mobile assets like oil equipment that require to be left in a foreign country for a fixed amount of time. The new policy also protects investments in manufacturing facilities across the world where clients spend significant capital and are dependent on them to produce goods for exports.

For private equity firms, the policy protects their infrastructure investments that they have committed to make for a long period of time.

The insurance major’s credit insurance policy, on the other hand, helps financial institutions engaged in trade and export finance to handle their overall global exposure.

Through the credit insurance policy, financial institutions can get regulatory capital relief for the insured portion of their global exposure. The product typically offers non-payment coverage on trade and export finance exposures to the financial institutions.

In August 2018, Hartford signed a $2.1bn deal to acquire global specialty underwriter Navigators Group.