Latest Property Headlines

All the headlines from our Property Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Florida Insurers Need Rate Increases, Says Rating Expert

Jul 21 2010 // Florida’s property/casualty insurers appear to have adequate reinsurance and capital in place to withstand at least two major storms this season but their overall fate could hinge on whether they are allowed to raise...

Bancroft Joins Southwest Risk as Senior VP, Property Manager

Jul 20 2010 // Simon Bancroft has joined Southwest Risk as senior vice president and property manager. Southwest Risk is a member company of Southwest Insurance Partners and operates offices in Dallas and Houston. As property manager,...

UK’s Miller Expands Property Reinsurance Business

Jul 19 2010 // UK-based Broker Miller Insurance Services Limited, which specializes in both insurance and reinsurance, announced a number of senior appointments to its reinsurance business unit. Former Guy Carpenter Managing Director...

Contractual Liability Is Just That

Jul 19 2010 // Texas Court: Exclusion Precludes Coverage for Breach of Contract Where contractors are involved, one of the most intractable problems for a carrier in negotiating and settling claims are the contract liability issues. How...

As the Wholesale World Turns

Jul 19 2010 // E&S Brokerage Mergers, Expansions and Start Ups, Oh My! As goes the circle of life, so goes the wholesale insurance broker world. Not even the sixth year of a soft market cycle has deterred industry veterans from...

Zurich Ups UK, Ireland Loan Loss Provisions by $330 Million

Jul 16 2010 // Zurich Financial Services Group reported a $330 million increase in the loan loss provisions in its commercial property loan books in the UK and Ireland to be taken in the second quarter 2010. Zurich noted that during 2009...

Munich Re Provides $96 Million Cat Bond to Mass. Property Association

Jul 12 2010 // Munich Re has provided the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association (MPIUA) with a $ 96 million catastrophe bond issuance that “transfers hurricane risk in Massachusetts to the capital...

Actuarially Sound Property Rates Remain Elusive Along Texas Coast

Jul 7 2010 // Insurance company interests have long complained that the state-backed Texas Windstorm Insurance Association charges rates that are not actuarially sound for the risks it insures, making it impossible for private insurers...

Wortman Retiring as CEO of Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

Jul 6 2010 // John Wortman, CEO of Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (Citizens), the state’s property insurance of last resort, has announced plans to retire. “John Wortman has been a tremendous asset to Louisiana...

People

Jul 5 2010 // Donald D. Larson has been named president and chief operating officer of the Great American Property and Casualty Group and Great American Insurance Co. Larson is the 16th president in Great American’s history. He...

Florida Court Says Fishermen Can Sue Polluter; Is BP Next?

Jul 5 2010 // With BP’s offshore oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico as a backdrop, the Florida Supreme Court recently ruled that commercial fishermen may sue a company that discharged pollutants into Tampa Bay for lost income and...

People

Jul 5 2010 // Donald D. Larson has been named president and chief operating officer of the Great American Property and Casualty Group and Great American Insurance Co. Larson is the 16th president in Great American’s history. He...

Actuarially Sound Rates Remain Elusive Along Texas Gulf Coast

Jul 5 2010 // Insurance company interests have long held that the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association charges rates that are not actuarially sound for the risks it insures, making it impossible for private insurers to compete for...

People

Jul 5 2010 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) elected David Wood, vice president and partner at Bogan, Dunlap & Wood Insurance in Odessa, to serve as the association’s president for 2010-2011. Other newly...

Construction Claims: Understanding Colorado’s Statutory Notice of Claim Process

Jul 5 2010 // In the construction industry, it is almost inevitable that at some time contractors and design professionals will receive a notice of claim (NOC) letter. This is the first step in the claims process that may lead to an...

Willis Re Appoints Byng to Lead New Property Resource Group

Jul 1 2010 // Willis Re, the reinsurance arm of Willis Group Holdings announced the appointment of James Byng Property Resource Group Leader for its International and Specialty reinsurance business. He will assume this new position on...

Neal Bill, HR 3424, Proponents and Opponents Trade Salvoes

Jun 29 2010 // When U.S. Representative Richard Neal (D-MA) introduced, or more properly reintroduced, HR 3424, a bill aimed at closing what its proponents describe as a “loophole” in the U.S. tax code, he ignited, or more...

Homeowners Offered Few Insurance Choices in Hurricane States

Jun 28 2010 // In most hurricane-prone states, homeowners have few choices of insurance coverage, with just eight property and casualty insurers in each state controlling up to 77.2 percent of the market share, according to Weiss...

California Violent Crime Rate Falls for Third Consecutive Year

Jun 28 2010 // California’s violent crime rate has declined 6.6 percent in the past year, according to the California Department of Justice’s annual crime report for 2009, recently released by Attorney General Edmund G. Brown...

More U.S. Firms Buying Terrorism Insurance; Prices Decline: Marsh

Jun 24 2010 // U.S. terrorism insurance purchase rates continued to climb in 2009 as companies of all sizes and across all industries continued to buy terrorism coverage, according to a report by global broker Marsh. Sixty-one percent of...