Latest Property Headlines
All the headlines from our Property Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insuring Products of the Mind
Sep 22 2014 // The rapid growth in patent infringement litigation in 2013 – almost 6,500 cases, or an increase of 25 percent over 2012, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers – might appear to be a strong motivator for at-risk...
10 Things to Know About Intellectual Property
Sep 22 2014 // Total global intellectual property applications worldwide in 2012: Patent – 2.35 million; Utility Model – 827,500; Trademark – 6.58 million; Industrial Design – 1.22 million. — World Intellectual...
Commercial Rates in Florida’s Citizens Going Up 3.3%
Sep 21 2014 // Rates for the almost 100,000 commercial property risks insured by Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will rise an average 3.3 percent next February. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has...
Litmus Analysis’ Shipperlee Explains Current Re/Insurance Ratings
Sep 19 2014 // As the former head of A.M. Best in London, and a senior executive with Standard & Poor’s, Litmus Analysis Senior Partner Stuart Shipperlee has a very complete knowledge of what re/insurance company ratings are,...
Judge: Michigan City not Liable for Post-Flood Decline in Property Values
Sep 17 2014 // A judge has ruled that Traverse City isn’t responsible for declines in property values that could be linked to officials’ decision to remove a northern Michigan dam. The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports...
Florida Approves Rate Cuts for Citizens Property Customers
Sep 9 2014 // Florida’s insurance regulator has approved rate decreases for policyholders of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. The approval means for the first time in five years a majority of the state-backed insurer’s...
Florida’s Crist, Scott Spar Over Property Insurance in Race for Governor
Sep 8 2014 // Democrat Charlie Crist said he successfully reduced rising property insurance rates as governor and will do so again if elected, vowing to repeal a law enacted under Republican Gov. Rick Scott that he said provides weaker...
MF Global Officers’ Defense Cost Already at $48 Million
Sep 8 2014 // Former officers and directors of MF Global Holdings Ltd. have already spent more than $48 million defending themselves from lawsuits, a sum U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn called “staggering” considering...
Missouri Insurance Director: Claims from Ferguson Riots Limited to Businesses
Sep 8 2014 // Property damage claims resulting from the rioting in Ferguson, Mo., in August are limited primarily to commercial property housing small businesses, according to the state’s chief insurance regulator. “There...
Insureds Rarely Have Home Inventories Despite Benefits, Say Claims Pros
Sep 8 2014 // Despite big storms and wildfires highlighting the need, home inventories are rare, say insurance industry experts. A recent Allstate Insurance survey of Atlanta homeowners found that while than more than 90 percent of...
Insurance Experts: Does It Really Take One to Know One?
Sep 8 2014 // When an insurance agent is sued for professional negligence, a question arises as to whether the breach of the agent’s duty of care requires the testimony of another insurance agent or broker who testifies that the...
Louisiana’s Homeowners Market Stronger 9 Years after Katrina
Sep 8 2014 // Louisiana’s property insurance market is vastly improved nine years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the state on Aug. 29, 2005, largely due to the implementation of statewide building codes and strategies that...
Florida OIR Approves Removal of Up to 427,584 Policies From Citizens
Sep 5 2014 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) announced that it has approved the removal of up to 425,357 personal residential policies and 2,227 commercial residential policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. by...
Sandy-Hit Towns in N.Y., N.J. Wrestle With Eminent-Domain Choice
Sep 3 2014 // On a tiny spit of land off Long Island in New York, the wealthy village of Asharoken faces a dilemma borne of Superstorm Sandy. Either it accepts millions of dollars in federal aid to build a protective sand dune and for...
Louisiana’s Homeowners Market Stronger 9 Years after Katrina
Aug 29 2014 // Louisiana’s property insurance market is vastly improved nine years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the state on Aug. 29, 2005, largely due to the implementation of statewide building codes and strategies that...
Missouri Regulators Assisting Ferguson Businesses with Property Claims
Aug 27 2014 // Representatives from the Missouri Department of Insurance headed to Ferguson on Aug. 27 to assist businesses that experienced damage during recent protests with filing insurance claims and to answer questions about the...
South Carolina’s Companion P&C to Be Acquired by Enstar Group
Aug 27 2014 // Enstar Group Limited in Bermuda said Tuesday it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Companion Property and Casualty Insurance Company from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina. The total...
Lessons from Napa’s ‘Winequake’
Aug 25 2014 // In the early hours Sunday morning, Northern California shook with the largest earthquake it has experienced since 1989. The South Napa Earthquake, as it is being referred to by the U.S. Geological Survey, was a magnitude...
Florida Opens, Closes Surplus Lines Opportunities
Aug 20 2014 // The recent legislative session in Tallahassee was relatively quiet, a matter some attribute to this being an election year. But even in quiet years, Florida lawmakers tend to make some noise about the insurance industry...
Ohio Woman Convicted in Arson-for-Insurance Case
Aug 19 2014 // A Youngstown, Ohio, woman has been convicted of setting fire to a rental property in order to collect insurance money, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. Latasha Curtis,...
