Latest Property Headlines
All the headlines from our Property Topic Page, ordered by recency.
China Insurers Face Shadow Banking Default Risk: Ratings Agencies
Oct 29 2014 // A doubling in the trust holdings of China’s insurers has prompted ratings companies to warn the industry may be taking on too much shadow banking default-risk. Insurers held 281 billion yuan ($46 billion) of trust...
Stratton Promoted to Property/Casualty Underwriter at J.M. Wilson
Oct 28 2014 // J.M. Wilson has promoted Kristy Stratton to property/casualty underwriter in its Portage, Mich., office. She is responsible for quoting new and renewal accounts for a wide variety of commercial property and casualty risks,...
Contractors Need to Be Involved in the Claims Process, BELFOR CEO Says
Oct 27 2014 // Customer service in property claims suffers when the contractor is left out of the settlement process and policy renewals may be in jeopardy because of it. That’s the word from the top executive of one of the...
Hardy Promotes Wright in Asia; Hires Bond and Osorio in London
Oct 21 2014 // Hardy Underwriting Asia Pte Ltd (Hardy Asia), a subsidiary of CNA Financial Corporation, has promoted Chris Wright as director and principal officer for Hardy Asia. (Hardy is a specialist underwriting business operating...
P/C Insurers’ Net Income Rose in First-Half of 2014
Oct 20 2014 // U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income rose $1.6 billion to $26.0 billion in first-half of 2014 while pretax operating income fell $1.9 billion to $23.9 billion in first-half 2014, a decrease driven by lower...
10 Things to Know About Commercial Property
Oct 20 2014 // Prices for commercial property insurance fell during the second quarter of 2014, marking the first time in three years that property prices fell, according to a recent Towers Watson survey. The survey showed that over half...
Bermuda Recovering from Hurricane Gonzalo Property Damage, Power Outages
Oct 19 2014 // Hurricane Gonzalo scored a direct hit on Bermuda Friday night into Saturday morning, pummeling the tiny island chain with rain and howling winds that downed trees and knocked out power but spared it catastrophic damage or...
Global Indemnity to Acquire American Reliable from Assurant Specialty
Oct 17 2014 // Assurant Specialty Property, a business segment of Assurant Inc., has agreed to sell its general agency business and associated insurance carrier, American Reliable Insurance Co., to Global Indemnity Group Inc., the U.S....
Mass. OKs Bill Providing Liability Coverage in FAIR Plan Dwelling Policy
Oct 15 2014 // Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has signed into law a bill that would require the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association (MPIUA) — also known as the Massachusetts FAIR Plan — to have...
RMS: ‘Big One’ in Northern California Could Cause $200B in Losses
Oct 13 2014 // Earthquake risk in the San Francisco Bay Area is on the rise while earthquake insurance penetration statewide has dropped significantly since the Loma Prieta earthquake that rocked the Bay Area 25 years ago, causing nearly...
Contractor to Pay Traverse City, Michigan $300K for River Damage
Oct 8 2014 // The contractor hired to remove a northern Michigan dam will pay $300,000 to resolve a lawsuit and restore a river that was damaged when the dam failed. Traverse City commissioners approved the settlement agreement on Oct....
P/C Insurers’ Net Income Rose, Operating Income Fell in First Half
Oct 6 2014 // U.S. property/casualty insurers’ net income rose $1.6 billion to $26.0 billion in first-half of 2014 while pretax operating income fell $1.9 billion to $23.9 billion in first-half 2014, a decrease driven by lower...
Insureds Rarely Have Home Inventories Despite Benefits, Say Claims Pros
Oct 6 2014 // Despite big storms and wildfires highlighting the need, home inventories are rare, say insurance industry experts. An Allstate Insurance survey of Atlanta homeowners found that while than more than 90 percent of homeowners...
XL Group Adds Smelser to North America Property Team in Dallas
Sep 30 2014 // XL Group announced the addition of Jay E. Smelser to its North America property insurance team as South Central regional leader, based in Dallas. Smelser reports to Senior Vice President and Head of North America General...
Swiss Re’s Property and Specialty Head on New and Diverse Risks
Sep 26 2014 // Edouard (Eddie) Schmidt is responsible for Swiss Re’s Property and Specialty Sectors around the world, which covers around a lot of ground. He explained how much, and what some of the difficulties he encounters are...
Liberty Mutual Names Sellers As Southeast Manager for National Property
Sep 26 2014 // Liberty Mutual Insurance’s National Accounts Property operation has appointed C. Wesley Sellers as Southeast division manager. C. Wesley Sellers Sellers, who is based in Atlanta, has 25 years of experience in the...
Contractors and the CGL Policy’s ‘Your Product’ and ‘Your Work’ Exclusions
Sep 22 2014 // Dear Contractors: The wall you just built may not be covered by your insurance the way you think it is. This is because although the commercial general liability (CGL) policy may cover bodily injury or property damage to...
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...
