Marsh launches pandemic policy

Marsh L.L.C. on Thursday said it is launching PathogenRX, a policy underwritten by Munich Reinsurance Co. that offers financial protection to U.S.-based businesses and their global operations affected by an infectious disease outbreak.

Marsh collaborated with Munich Re and Metabiota Inc., a San Francisco-based biotech company, to create PathogenRX, which also aims to help businesses measure the potential economic loss from a pandemic or epidemic of diseases such as Zika, Middle East respiratory syndrome and SARS, Marsh said in a statement.

Using triggers like Metabiota’s Pathogen Sentiment Index, which provides analytics into infectious disease outbreaks, Marsh said businesses can model their potential financial loss from an outbreak and protect against the threat through the insurance policy underwritten by Munich Re.

The policy can be tailored to provide coverage for specific expenses, geographies, types of disease, or portions of a calendar year.