Ace unit guards against power outages. (Marketplace Property/Casualty).

Ace USA Power Products has a new product for electric utilities--PowerBacker LTO--which is designed exclusively to provide protection against long-term outages.

PowerBacker LTO meets the utility industry's demand for a solution to earnings shocks that may result from long-term generator outages. With limits of up to $100 million, Power Backer LTO protects investor-owned utilities and municipalities against the financial consequences that result when one or more generating units is out of commercial operation for long periods.

Unlike traditional business interruption coverage that is offered as a sub-part of a property program, PowerBacker LTO specifically underwrites the risk associated with long-outages. It provides a policy that can eliminate time-consuming claim adjustments, it strips away everything unrelated to the long-term power outage risk.

"In today's generating world, long-term outage protection can no longer be considered a sidebar to other property covers," said Kurt Husar, vice president, Ace USA Power Products. "The costs of lost generating capacity associated with a long-term outage can be far more severe than the physical damage loss."

PowerBacker LTO provides flexible coverage that is linked to outages--not to property damage that can be bought either as a stand-alone product or integrated with Ace USA's PowerBacker short-term outage-protection product.

Indemnity schedules are flexible and can be a stipulated value or developed to reflect the varying "forward" values of generation throughout the year, all with the objective of meeting lost value, debt-service commitments or payments in lieu of taxes.

To date, Ace USA has insured more than 100,000 megawatts of generated power in the industry.