Exploiting Tiger
All the revelations about Tiger Woods' mistresses over the past couple of weeks has been very bad news for the big brands that paid out millions to sign Woods up as their spokesman. Enter DeWitt Stern, an insurance company that is now capitalizing on Woods' troubles with what it claims is a totally new type of policy: "reputation risk insurance." Now when the face of your wholesome, family-friendly brand gets arrested in a seedy motel room with a crack pipe and with a tranny hooker, you'll be fully protected! The press release is below.
'Reputation Risk Insurance' Introduced by 110-Year-Old Risk Advisory Leader, Dewitt Stern
Tiger Woods Scandal Shows Need to Protect Brands and Advertisers from Sudden and Dramatic Losses
NEW YORK, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire/ — DeWitt Stern, the 110-year-old risk management and insurance brokerage firm specializing in insurance products for the entertainment, arts, and advertising communities, today announced that it will introduce "Reputation Risk Insurance" into the marketplace at the beginning of the new year. No other insurance product of its kind has ever been available, DeWitt Stern says.
DeWitt Stern's Reputation Risk Insurance will protect brands, corporate entities, and advertisers against losses incurred from reputational crises. DeWitt Stern's Reputation Risk Insurance will compensate policy holders for both the cost of crisis remediation and actual loss of revenue following public relations crises. DeWitt Stern has been developing the policy in consultation with Vorhaus Communications, Inc., a leading crisis and reputation management advisory. It is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2010.
"The Tiger Woods scandal shows how quickly reputations can become tarnished in today's fast-paced media environment," said LeConte Moore, a Managing Director at DeWitt Stern's New York City office. "All the planning in the world cannot protect a brand manager against the unforeseen. Reputation Risk Insurance will provide those forward-looking brand managers and advertisers with a smart and attractive way to protect their investments."
"Reputation is arguably a company's single greatest asset, and in the era of instant information, it is more vulnerable than ever," said Scott Brady, a Managing Director at DeWitt Stern's Los Angeles office. "This industry first will enable companies to protect an asset previously ignored by the insurance industry."
DeWitt Stern's Reputation Risk Insurance will compensate policy holders for:
* Lost sales;
* Crisis management fees;
* Lost advertising campaign expenses, and
* Pre-committed and incurred endorsement fees.