Cancellation of booking policy offers hotels higher coverage limits

Burns & Wilcox Brokerage has launched a cancellation of booking insurance policy for the hospitality industry.

The policy offers options for higher coverage limits and does not require a physical loss or damage to be triggered, the Farmington Hills, Michigan-based wholesale broker said in a statement Friday.

The policy covers the interruption and income losses that happen when reservations are cancelled or the insured is unable to accept bookings, according to the statement.

The policy is activated in many different situations including violent or criminal activity and the outbreak of a contagious disease, the broker said.

“The COBI solution from Burns & Wilcox Brokerage addresses a serious gap in the coverage available for the hospitality industry,” Evan Bull, executive vice president and head of the Burns & Wilcox Brokerage national property practice, said in the statement. “Previously, most hospitality clients were forced to rely on the limited ($500,000 to $1 million) provisions for cancellation of bookings that were included in their property insurance program, while the global insurance property market was restricted to $1 million. For others, there was simply no protection to guard against cancellations resulting from a non-physical loss or damage.”

The new policy is available in the continental United States and provides two coverage options: $1 million per occurrence/$2.5 million in the aggregate annually, and $2.5 million per occurrence/$5 million in the aggregate annually, according to the statement. There is a minimum deductible of $25,000 per occurrence.