MARC Takes a Collaborative Approach to Meet a Client Need

MARC Takes a Collaborative App= roach to Meet a Client Need

September 19, 2007 -- A new product, recently devel= oped thanks to the collaborative approach of MARC Life and Munich Re AmericaR= 17;s Specialty Markets, demonstrates the Atlanta-ba= sed reinsurer’s focus on providing solutions that s= peak to clients’ individual risk management needs.

Inv= oluntary Unemployment Insurance (IUI) is a new offering for the Munich Re Group in t= he U.S. an= d is unique because of its hybrid nature. IUI is considered a property/casualty insurance product, but it is sold by life insurance companies offering debt cancellation products. IUI provides a fixed dollar amount= to a person who loses their job allowing them to continue to pay specific loan-r= elated expenses, such as their home mortgage.

Dev= elopment of the product was initiated based on requests from several of MARC’s= reinsurance clients and prospects who wanted to offer IUI to its policyholders. Th= e only problem was IUI is considered property/casualty insurance and MARC, of cour= se, is only licensed to provide life coverage. Because of this, MARC turned to MRA= m for help and Specialty Markets got involved. Together, the two Munich Re Group companies came up with a creative solution to meet the client’s need.=

Her= e’s what they did: the client is using a recently purchased property/casualty subsidiary to supply the product and MRAm is reinsuring it. MRAm, in turn, will retrocede the business to a South Carolina<= /st1:place> captive that MARC set up. MARC continues to provide the reinsurance pricing and underwriting services. This arrangement provides the clie= nt continued access to MARC’s group experience and credit product expert= ise while at the same time delivering the full reinsurance credits offered by an A-ra= ted casualty reinsurance partner. Steve Rulis, MARC’s actuary in charge of the IUI initiative and president of the captive said, “We are thrilled to have MRAm&= #8217;s support. We’ve been mis= sing out on business opportunities for the past several years, but it took only = six months or so to launch the product line once MARC and MRAm teamed up.” = ;

New= s of the new product struck a responsive chord throughout the alternative market and captive communities, notes Greg Lang, Head of the Business Development Grou= p of MRAm Specialty Markets. “It demonstrates our inventiveness, willingne= ss and ability to create a specialized product that fulfills a certain client need.”

MARC provides assistance with pricing and product design as well as underwriting= and block management advice for a variety of debt cancellation products. As a m= ember of the South Carolina Captive Insurance Association, MARC has access to producers and inforce relationships that it can make available to clients looking to cross sell products.

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