Willis, the broker, has launched $200m (£136m) capacity for insurance against sabotage and terrorist attacks against property.

The capacity will be sold via the internet and comes at a time of shrinking capacity across the market. It is envisaged to provide anti-terrorist cover for large commercial buildings such as skyscrapers and factories.

An account executive on the global property and casualty e-trading team, Ed Bishop, said the product made accessible capacity that had already existed on the London Market. "We've put together a panel of insurers to respond to a need for sabotage and terrorism cover because of a lack of capacity," he said.

Willis arranged the capacity from Lloyd's, Hiscox, AIG and other Lloyd's syndicates. Bishop said: "By bringing these together in a single product, it's making access to capacity far easier."

The September 11 terrorist attacks had exacerbated an already existing lack of capacity in the market and the product had been planned since June.

He said: "To have $200m is quite a significant amount. We're aiming for the middle to larger accounts."

The fact that deals will be done exclusively via the internet is expected to speed up sales of the insurance.

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