Sales tools for agents and brokers from NIF Group and Zurich,and a survey of risk managers buying directors and officerliability insurance from Towers Perrin were also announced thismonth.

A handful of announcements on miscellaneous insurance specialtyproducts for unique risks crossed the newswires as well, includingone for entertainers from U.S. Risk and another for truck brokersfrom AIG.

NIF Group, a Manhasset, N.Y.-based program administrator,announced the launch of a new service aimed at the specializedneeds of nonprofit organizations--NIF Nonprofit Advisor.

NIF said the service provides a combination of fund-raising,insurance and other solutions that are aimed at making independentinsurance agents more competitive and enabling nonprofits to betterachieve their ultimate missions.

The service, according to NIF, will help agents separate theirfirms from the pack of insurance-only agents to an elite class oftrue nonprofit business advisors, with access to a world-classplatform of services to help the largest nonprofit organizationsthrough the smallest.

The new service is focused on first providing real-timeinformation on the nonprofit community to advisors. Then, it helpsthese advisors benchmark their existing and prospective nonprofitclients' business operations and programs, and finally derive a setof exclusive solutions to address their needs.

Some of the key components of this service include capabilitiesin the areas of funding, insurance, health care, trusts & assetmanagement, marketing strategy, business development, prospectingand sales support, NIF said.

Dan Mogelnicki, NIF's nonprofit chief, said, "We believe ittakes a special advisor to help these [nonprofit] organizationsmake the right decisions," adding that NIF is offering access toresources available to NIF due to its significant scale in thisarena.

"Positioning themselves as overall advisor to their clients andbecoming a trusted advisor across many needs will become a leadingadvantage for many of the top insurance agencies nationally," hesaid.

Focusing on the needs of insurance agents and brokers servingtechnology builders, Schaumburg, Ill.-based Zurich North Americalaunched a dynamic, distributor-focused Web site to provide acentral source for the latest applicable news and educationalresources.

Zurich said user-friendly navigation on the site,www.techinsurance.zurichna.com, allows agents to access resourcesand tools they need to advise customers in the informationtechnology, electronics, communications, factory automation andmedical devices segments.

David Allred, director of Zurich's Middle Market commercialbusiness unit's technology initiative said, "Our goal in developingthis site is to change the game in how insurance Web sitesoperate."

"Instead of just listing products and services for distributorsto sell, we have created a site that can actually help them writebusiness," he added.

The Web site enables agents and brokers to click on easy-to-usedrop-down menus and find answers to almost every issue imaginableconnected with prospecting, writing and profiting from technologybusiness, Zurich said, highlighting the following contentfeatures:

o "Loss Scenarios" that identify real-life potential technologyrisks and exposures.

o "Knowledge Hub" that houses a series of articles on the latesttechnology topics--written by industry experts as well as Zurich'stechnology and risk management professionals.

o A "Go Global" section that addresses the unique needstechnology companies face when doing business internationally.

o A "News and Trends" news aggregator service that tracks 24/7all relevant technology stories in the business media, providingusers with real-time Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds of majortechnology news and features.

Towers Perrin, a global professional services firm in Stamford,Conn., is calling for data submissions from buyers of D&Oinsurance for its 2008 Directors and Officers Liability Survey.

The deadline for participation is Friday, August 29.

The 2008 survey, the 31st in a series of studies on D&Oliability insurance purchasing trends, has been condensed, withmore than one-third of the questions from the 2007 editioneliminated, Towers Perrin said, noting that the amount of timeneeded to complete the questionnaire has been greatly reduced.

The changes have made it more time-efficient to contribute to acomprehensive survey of critical benchmarking data, according toMichael F. Turk, senior consultant and director of the survey.

Buyers interested in participating in the 2008 Directors andOfficers Liability Survey should request a secure link [email protected], then visit Towers Perrin's Website, www.towersperrin.com, to complete the electronicquestionnaire.

Findings from Towers Perrin's 2007 D&O survey, which hadnearly 3,000 participants, showed the continuing softness in theD&O market through lower premiums, higher limits, lowerretentions and more coverage enhancements.

The survey also revealed that few companies with internationalexposures were purchasing local D&O insurance policies. Othertrends revealed were that independent directors liability coveragewas something they were considering but very few had purchased, andthat half of the survey participants bought their fiduciaryliability coverage with their D&O policy.

Lexington Insurance Company, a unit of AIG Commercial Insurancein New York, announced Lexington Truck Broker Liability Insurance,a primary liability insurance policy that addresses liability risksof truck brokers, who bring together shippers needing to transportgoods and authorized motor carriers.

Lexington said that a recent federal court decision ruled thatshippers and brokers failing to use "reasonable means" to performbackground checks on motor carriers before they are retained couldbe liable for accidents caused by the motor carriers.

In response to the increased liability risks, Lexington designedTruck Broker Liability Insurance to provide bodily injury andproperty damage liability coverage to protect the truck broker ifthe broker is brought into a legal action caused by a truckaccident involving a motor carrier.

David Bresnahan, executive vice president of Lexington notedthat this is a unique contingent exposure, which called for thecreation of a primary product, complimenting Lexington'sestablished auto capabilities and services.

Lexington Truck Broker Liability Insurance is part of the AIGTransportation Solutions practice and adds to AIG CommercialInsurance's suite of insurance products for the transportationindustry, ranging from primary and excess auto liability to cargoand vehicle physical damage coverage.

Dallas-based U.S. Risk Underwriters, a subsidiary of U.S. RiskInsurance Group Inc., a managing general agency and surplus lineswholesaler, has launched VOCAL, a new product designed forself-employed individuals in the entertainment industry.

VOCAL provides coverage options for under a master policy, andfeatures a convenient online system that provides users with theresponsiveness necessary in this fast-paced industry, the MGAsaid.

Coverage is written through carriers rated "A" or higher by A.M.Best.

Lorna Greenwood, program manager at U.S. Risk Underwriters, said"With well over 200,000 venues, film and recording studios in theUnited States, there is a strong need for affordable occupationalaccident and contingent liability coverage for a broad range ofclasses."

According to Greenwood, many self-employed persons may not wantto cover themselves 100 percent of the time, but the venues andstudios that contract them usually require coverage. With VOCAL,participating venues and studios receive automatic additionalinsured status while workers have the option of only purchasingcoverage when they need it.

U.S. Risk also offers annual and other longer-term coverageoptions.