Latest Property Headlines

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

Wisconsin Lawmakers Mull Property Insurance Breaks for Governments

Jul 13 2009 // Some state lawmakers in Wisconsin want to give local governments a one-year break from paying their property-insurance premiums. Hundreds of cities, towns and school districts insure their property with a state fund...

S&P Raises Validus Outlook to ‘Positive;’ IPC Outlook Stays Negative

Jul 13 2009 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Bermuda-based insurance and reinsurance holding company Validus Holdings Ltd. to positive from stable, and has affirmed its ‘BBB-‘...

Florida’s Citizens Insurance Proposes to Hike Some Rates, Decrease Others

Jul 9 2009 // After three years of no increases, Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is about to hike premiums up to 10 percent for many of its policyholders, although not for as many as some insurance insiders and...

Florida’s New Insurers Won’t Pick Up State Farm Slack, McCarty Says

Jul 6 2009 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said the 54 property insurers backed by nearly $5 billion in capital that have been admitted to the state since 2006 can’t be expected to absorb all of the policies left...

State Auto: How a Regional Carrier Weathers the Storms

Jul 6 2009 // CEO Restrepo Talks Cat Losses, Premium Growth and Independent Agents Regional property/casualty insurance companies don’t make headlines like the large institutions. They simply go about their business serving...

People

Jul 6 2009 // Columbus, Ohio-based State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company and State Auto Property & Casualty Insurance Company has named new managers in various divisions. Robert (Bob) A. Bachtell is claims manager for State...

People

Jul 6 2009 // Jeffrey A. Vanderpool has been promoted to senior vice president and chief claims officer at Sunshine State Insurance Co. in St. Augustine, Fla. Vanderpool has served as vice president of caims since he joined the insurer...

People

Jul 6 2009 // Edward J. Maucere, former owner of London American General Agency Inc., a San Diego-based wholesale brokerage and underwriting manager for commercial transportation business, passed away unexpectedly on June 12, 2009, at...

P/C Industry Posts $1.3B Loss in Q1; Combined Ratio Up to 102.2

Jul 6 2009 // The property/casualty insurance industry suffered a $1.3 billion net loss after taxes for first-quarter 2009, which constitutes a $9.8 billion adverse swing from the industry’s $8.5 billion in net income after taxes...

Florida Finds Owners for $173 Million in Unclaimed Property, Benefits, Deposits

Jul 2 2009 // Florida returned over $173 million in unclaimed property for the most recent fiscal year– the largest amount in state history, according to CFO Alex Sink and her Bureau of Unclaimed Property. The Bureau of Unclaimed...

North Carolina House Committee Advances Beach Plan Reforms

Jul 1 2009 // The North Carolina House Insurance Committee has unanimously approved legislation that attempts to spread the pain should a major storm cause losses that exceed existing private and public insurance funds. The legislation...

State Auto to Offer Flood Insurance

Jun 30 2009 // Beginning June 30, Columbus, Ohio-based State Auto Insurance Companies will add flood insurance to the list of State Auto coverages available for home, business and farm offered through more than 3,400 independent...

North Carolina Coastal Insurance Fix Would Alter Deductibles, Limits

Jun 29 2009 // North Carolina legislators started grappling last week with how to beef up the state-created but underfunded insurance program for coastal property, and immediately confronted the possibility that all of the state’s...

Congress Told New Consumer Agency Not Needed for P/C Insurance

Jun 25 2009 // There is no need for a federal consumer protection agency for property/casualty insurance products, state insurance regulators and insurers told Congress. In testimony before the House Committee of Financial Services on a...

RMS ‘Underwriting Toolkit’ Provides Instant UK Property Risk Assessment

Jun 24 2009 // Risk Management Solutions has launched its “Underwriting Toolkit,” which it describes as “designed to help underwriters and pricing managers accurately assess and rate risk for individual buildings...

All North Carolina Homeowners Could Pay If Insurers, Beach Plan Fall Short

Jun 24 2009 // Every insured homeowner in North Carolina could shoulder the cost of rebuilding if a massive hurricane hits under a deal taking shape in the Legislature. The legislation (HB1305), expected to be detailed in a House...

Obama Insurance Views Mirror Those of P/C Agents, Insurers, Regulators

Jun 17 2009 // The Obama administration’s views on insurance regulation are in keeping with those of many within the property/casualty insurance industry as well as state regulators who now regulate the industry. Most in the...

Florida Welcoming New Latin Independent Agents, While Still Coping with Old Market Problems

Jun 15 2009 // LAAIA Chief Says Property Markets Will Be a Problem in South Florida Until There’s a National Plan Being an independent agent in south Florida means never having enough property markets. That was true years ago and...

Chinese Drywall: Builders, Subcontractors, Home Owners Facing Potentially Massive Uninsured Losses

Jun 15 2009 // Policy Exclusions Favor Insurers But Builders Can Be Protected General liability carriers specializing in contractor insurance for builders and drywall subcontractors are “sweating it out” over the potentially...

Chinese Drywall: Builders, Subs Face Huge Uninsured Losses

Jun 15 2009 // Policy Exclusions Are a Problem, But Builders Can Be Protected There is a lot at stake for all parties because the damages on a per house basis are likely to be astronomical. General liability carriers specializing in...