Massachusetts-based insurer Liberty Mutual recently began including a crisis management clause to its recently redeveloped commercial umbrella coverage paperwork, in order to facilitate better protections for medium-sized organizations.

In this clause, Liberty coverage clients will have up to three days to inform the company of a crisis situation that is developing or fully evolved into an emergency situation. Once this declaration is made, the company will have the ability to submit claim paperwork in order to benefit from up to fifty thousand dollars in financial assistance, to be used for the purpose of receiving help from a public relations (PR) firm chosen by Liberty specifically for the policy. The selected agency, Weber Shandwick, maintains a presence in scores of countries, and has a well-established track record in such areas as digital and social media PR, advocate arrangements and other areas of interest to Liberty’s corporate clientele.

Unlike many other such policies – which may only give clients one day in which to file for assistance in the event of a crisis – Liberty has extended this time frame to three days, which could be a big draw for new prospective policyholders.

There are times in which the immediacy of an issue identifies it clearly as a crisis, but not all such situations are cut and dry. As explained by a representative for Liberty, these other kinds of situations are where the advantages of this extended time frame really shine through. It can sometimes take days for the imminent nature of a crisis to become clear. This 72-hour window allows the company effective management for all kinds of scenarios.

Additional crisis funding – up to a quarter of a million dollars in some cases, is available under the terms of the agreement. This additional funding, like the quick-turnaround emergency funds, fall under the provisions of the company’s lead umbrella policy for corporate coverage.

At the end of 2010, the insurer presented its new, customizable umbrella policy to the marketplace, a policy which enabled specific areas of coverage (such as car, alcohol, and liability coverage) to work hand in hand with the primary policy forms and provisions.