BioSurance
Safeguarding and Supporting Life Science Ventures

Life science businesses require specialized insurance packages due to exposure to varied risks. However, the insurance industry typically offers standardized products that often fail to address the critical requirements of these organizations.

BioSurance is driven by the mission to make insurance simple and transparent for life science businesses, including pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and medical startups. It utilizes strong industry relationships with top insurance carriers to ensure clients get the best coverage and protect themselves from unforeseen risks. The typical areas the company focuses on include product liability, workers’ compensation, property, clinical trial, automobile, ocean cargo, and cyber insurance, making it an ideal solution for the diverse insurance needs of life science businesses.

“Our expertise lies in our ability to analyze and evaluate various insurance policy forms to tailor bespoke solutions that cater to the specific requirements of our clients,” says Joseph Faccibene, president of BioSurance.

The company takes a holistic and collaborative approach to risk management, beginning with a thorough assessment of every aspect of the client’s business, procedures, and risks. This involves scrutinizing critical details, from FDA issues and liability exposures to existing vendor contracts and information security measures.

“We perceive insurance not as a product but as a philosophy of risk management. Whenever we work with potential clients, we assess all the risks they face and then figure out what we can do for them,” says Faccibene.

BioSurance helps clients manage risks by crafting specialized insurance policies. It enables the transfer of risk from the policyholder to the insurer, where clients need to pay a premium, and the liabilities are transferred to the insurance company. But there are less expensive ways as well. One is contractually transferring the risk back to the suppliers or vendors. This enables life science companies to grab discounts from insurers. The other way is to establish good management practices for mitigating the risk down to a point where businesses do not need to worry about it. BioSurance has the bandwidth to support clients in all three ways—depending on their requirements and risks.

With its comprehensive approach to life science insurance, the company has helped numerous clients deal with different complex scenarios. Take for instance, research startup companies that use lab animals, especially lab rats. It may only cost $30, but after genetic engineering and research, the same animal could be worth up to $90,000. But when a lab encounters accidental losses, insurance policies usually only provide replacement costs (which is $30). When working with clients like this, BioSurance considers adding an additional clause to the policy covering the research value of the animal to help them get the best insurance coverage possible.

BioSurance also works with startup biotech companies that rely on grants. However, funding often comes in multiple stages and is tied to specific research milestones. In case of an unfortunate event like a fire, their standard insurance policies do not provide compensation for milestone payments. BioSurance ensures that insurance providers treat milestone payments as income by drafting the right policies. As a result, the research work is never delayed due to funding crunch.

Over the years, BioSurance has understood the importance of managing risks in the insurance industry. It takes a consultative and educational approach to its services, supporting its clients in effectively managing insurance risks. These additional abilities set the company apart from its competitors.