Take a deep look at these industry-specific risks and see how you can help your life sciences clients stay prepared and protected.
Unique property risks in life sciences
The complexities of insuring life sciences organizations go beyond products and professional liability. Many of these organizations face property risks unlike anything found in any other industry, especially those engaged with medical device manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and companies engaged in research and development. These unique risks include:
Cleanrooms
Cleanrooms help control the concentration of airborne particles, and are classified based on the cleanliness level of the air inside the controlled environment. Cleanrooms are often present in medical device, pharmaceutical and biologics research and development and manufacturing operations.
What can happen?
Contamination is a big risk in this environment. It can originate from many places such as people working in a cleanroom, to the equipment, and materials used. Prevention of contamination is essential to the prevention of:
- Injury or death to customers and workers
- Product recall
- Exposure to lawsuits and reputational damage
- Cross-contaminating other products, whether within the cleanroom, in transit, or during handling at another facility or location
How organizations can reduce risks
- Employee training on proper cleanroom procedures
- Real-time air monitoring system
- Real-time contaminate particle counting sensors, connected to a monitoring system that activates a stoppage sequence if a threshold for airborne particulates is crossed
- Regular cleanroom maintenance
- Established accident and emergency procedures
Climate-controlled areas
Climate controlled areas are used in pharmaceutical and biologics manufacturing, and by biotechnology and contract research firms to maintain the temperature of certain materials.
What can happen?
- Loss of long-term research projects or highly valued products could impact the organization’s revenues or ability to reach critical research milestones.
- When pharmaceuticals and biologics are stored out of range, there is a risk of loss of efficacy, patient harm and financial loss.
How organizations can reduce risks
- Power back-ups, such as on-site generators
- Temperature variance and leak detection sensors
- Real-time monitoring and alarms
- Maintenance protocol for all refrigeration equipment
- Established emergency response and contingency plans
- Alternate off-site storage options
Biosafety laboratories
Biosafety is the application of safety precautions that reduce a worker’s risk of exposure to a potentially infectious microbe and limit contamination of the work environment and, ultimately, the community.
What can happen?
Without proper protection, people and property can be exposed to:
- Wastewater contamination
- Cross-contamination
- Transmission of biohazard agent or pathogen, which may result in illness or death to animals or humans
How organizations can reduce risks
- Grant access to authorized employees only.
- Physical security measures, including cameras, card readers, biometric scanners or keypads, and alarms
- Ensure laboratory practices, safety equipment and facility construction comply with the CDC’s biosafety level guidelines.
Vivarium
A vivarium is an area, usually enclosed, which provides a controlled environment for keeping and raising animals.
What can happen?
- An uncontrolled vivarium exposure can lead to animal bites, scratches and even more life-threatening injuries to workers.
- A poorly controlled vivarium can result in the escape or loss of expensive research animals, a delay in research and the failure to reach critical targets.
How organizations can reduce risks
- Grant access to authorized employees only.
- Employees training on animal handling
- Employees wear proper PPE.
- Physical security measures, including cameras, card readers, biometric scanners or keypads, and alarm
- Real-time environmental monitoring system of temperature, humidity and CO2
- An established emergency response plan is in effect.
- Compliance with good laboratory practice for non-clinical laboratory studies
Life-changing science. Game-changing coverage.
With Hanover Life Sciences Advantage, we offer property coverage designed to meet the unique needs of life sciences organizations, including:
- Contamination and cleanup or removal
- Equipment breakdown
- FDA recertification
- Scientific animals
- Spoilage
- Business income coverage:
- Business income – new product to market delay
- Business income – milestones
- Business income and expenses – research and development
- Contract cancellation
Additional coverage offerings for life sciences include:
- Commercial general liability
- Workers’ compensation
- Commercial auto
- International
- Umbrella
- Hanover Fusion:
- Products completed operations
- Clinical trials
- Errors and omissions
- Information security & privacy and personal injury
- Media and content
- Data breach expense
- Products recall expense
- Human clinical trial medical expense
- Regulatory proceedings claims expense
- Fines and penalties
Learn more about Hanover Life Sciences Advantage
Let's start a conversation today
We’re committed to partnering with you to help identify and develop risk mitigation programs for life sciences organizations. Our team can extend the expertise of your agency, working closely with customers to protect what is most important to them. Contact us today to learn more.
Kristin Lange
Senior Life Sciences Underwriter
262-796-6725
klange@hanover.com
IA, IL, MN, NE, ND, SD, WI
Leah Moreno
Senior Life Sciences Underwriter
810-206-5879
lmoreno@hanover.com
IN, KS, KY, MI, MO, OH
Courtney Morris
Senior Life Sciences Underwriter
908-335-7058
comorris@hanover.com
CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, RI, VT
Jason Price
Senior Life Sciences Underwriter
720-402-1178
jprice@hanover.com
AR, AZ, CO, LA, NM, NV, OK, TX, UT, WY
Chelsea Poff
Senior Life Sciences Underwriter
540-314-9986
cpoff@hanover.com
AL, CA, FL, GA, ID, MS, MT, NC, OR, SC, TN, VA, WA, WV
Renee Teich
Executive Life Sciences Underwriter
484-238-8121
rteich@hanover.com
NJ, NY, PA
Felicia R. Burton
Life Sciences Director
704-409-1076
fburton@hanover.com
Becky Franklin, CSP
Technology, Life Sciences and Cyber Risk
972-978-7791
rfranklin@hanover.com
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