Latest Property Headlines

Western Security Surplus adds Texas Coastal Property Coverage

Oct 30 2006 // Ron Klimek, vice president and Dallas branch manager, announced that Western Security Surplus has increased capacity to write coastal property coverage in Texas, including wind and hail, Tier 1 and 2 counties. The property...

Janes Named Property Broker in Swett & Crawford’s Los Angeles Office

Oct 30 2006 // Swett & Crawford has welcomed Brian Janes, a property broker, back to its Los Angeles office. Since 2004 he was a property broker with Stewart Smith/AmWins in the Glendale, Califo., office. James began his career in...

Mich. H.E.A.T. Increases Stolen Property Recovery by $2 Million

Oct 25 2006 // Michigan celebrated the 21st anniversary of the H.E.A.T. (Help Eliminate Auto Thefts) program with its annual award program this week. According to the official release, since its inception in 1985, H.E.A.T., with its...

Aon Moves On Exit Plan, Announces Sale of Construction Program

Oct 25 2006 // Chicago-based Aon Corp. today announced that it has taken further steps to exit its property & casualty underwriting business by signing a letter of intent for the sale of its Construction Program Group (CPG). Aon...

$8 Million N.Y. Program Aids Flooded ‘Main Street’ Properties

Oct 24 2006 // In an initiative targeted to upstate communities hardest hit by this summer’s flooding, The Community Preservation Corp. (CPC) in partnership with the New York State Department of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR)...

Editor’s Note: Fire safety begins at home

Oct 23 2006 // Home fires continue to be the number one cause of fire deaths. Home fires also account for 74 percent of total reported civilian fire injuries and 63 percent of total reported direct property damage. The good news –...

Alabama coastal property owners face more insurer restrictions

Oct 23 2006 // Two of the Alabama’s largest insurance firms said they’re reducing coverage and increasing deductibles in Mobile and Baldwin counties, citing frequent hurricanes, coastal construction growth, lack of strong...

Oct 23 2006 // People The Main Street America Group has named Bonny Parker vice president for personal lines. She will be based at corporate headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla., and report to Bill Anderson, senior vice president,...

News Currents

Oct 23 2006 // Fla. gubernatorial candidates offer property insurance proposals If he is elected governor, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis says Florida homeowners would see lower property insurance rates as soon as next year...

Editor’s Note: Fire safety begins at home

Oct 23 2006 // Home fires continue to be the number one cause of fire deaths. Home fires also account for 74 percent of total reported civilian fire injuries and 63 percent of total reported direct property damage. The good...

Fiess: Texas Supreme Court speaks

Oct 23 2006 // Despite the mandate of new mold endorsements and adoption of new forms, there has been a great deal of continuing litigation in Texas under the Homeowners B form as to when mold is covered. The focus has been on the...

People

Oct 23 2006 // The Society of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters elected new officers and governors. They are: President Betsey L. Brewer, senior vice president of The Rule Co. in Pasadena, Calif. President-Elect James L. Britt,...

P/C insurers’ profitability drops in first-half of 2006

Oct 23 2006 // The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry’s net income after taxes fell 9.3 percent to $28.3 billion in first-half 2006 from $31.2 billion in first-half 2005 as investment results deteriorated. Reflecting the...

Employee benefits offer an easy way to expand business with clients

Oct 23 2006 // It’s a problem many brokers face: clients love our property casualty risk management products and services, but have we given them all they need? What else can we do for them? An employee benefits program offers an...

Japan’s Courts Recognizing Intellectual Property Right of Employees

Oct 22 2006 // Japan’s Supreme Court recognized the intellectual property rights of employees who invent products in a landmark ruling last week, ordering Hitachi to pay 163 million yen ($1.4 million) to a former worker. The court...

La. Governor Waiting on Special Session for Insurance Relief

Oct 19 2006 // Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said she has delayed calling a special legislative session on insurance relief because she is waiting to hear if the state will attract the major manufacturers it is courting, in deals that...

Survey: Commercial Market Softens, Insurer Appetite Increases

Oct 19 2006 // The commercial property/casualty market continued to soften during the third quarter, with indications that some insurers are finding an appetite for business in which they previously were not interested, according to the...

GOP Attempt to Call Special Session in La. Faces Hurdles

Oct 18 2006 // Republican state lawmakers face steep hurdles in their attempts to call the Louisiana Legislature into special session early next month an attempt to sidestep Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who they say is moving too...

Ind. Protective Insurance Enters into Agreement with Paladin Catastrophe

Oct 18 2006 // Indianapolis-based Baldwin & Lyons, Inc. announced that its subsidiary, Protective Insurance Company, has entered into an agreement with newly formed Paladin Catastrophe Management to produce property catastrophe...

Ala. Coastal Property Owners Facing More Insurer Restrictions

Oct 10 2006 // More insurance cutbacks for Alabama coastal properties — not only for buildings and homes near the beaches — are coming in the wake of 2004 and 2005 hurricanes. Two of the state’s largest insurance firms said...