Latest Property Headlines

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

Florida Property & Casualty Insurance Reform Committee Recommendations

Nov 19 2006 // Hurricane Catastrophe Fund 1. Keep the current retention level but consider offering coverage below the retention level/attachment point (first layer of coverage) on a voluntary basis to all admitted companies...

IIAT survey finds coastal insurance market tighter; more expensive

Nov 19 2006 // Property insurance along the Texas coast is getting harder to find plus premiums and deductibles are increasing, according to results from a survey of independent insurance agents. Respondents are members of the...

Burden of proof to determine insurance coverage in ‘slab’ case

Nov 19 2006 // When asked to determine coverage under an insurance policy, courts frequently recite the principle that the insured has the burden of proving coverage under the policy and the insurer has the burden of proving exclusions...

People, partnerships lead to nearly a century of success

Nov 19 2006 // Good people can make or break a company. In San Diego-based Barney & Barney’s case, it’s clearly made it; the company has been in business for nearly a century, thanks to people who have invested their...

Commercial premiums, except coastal property, continue to fall

Nov 19 2006 // Commercial insurance premiums fell slightly in the third quarter of this year, representing a continuation of the trends that occurred in the past two quarters, according to the RIMS Benchmark Survey, which surveys current...

Beazley Names New Senior Underwriter of Central Region Based Chicago

Nov 17 2006 // Beazley Group plc announced that to strengthen its U.S. commercial property team ahead of its launch in the admitted market the company has hired Neil Brown as the senior underwriter for its central region, based in...

Hannover Re Posts $486 Million Half-Year Net Income

Nov 15 2006 // Germany’s Hannover Re joined the expanding list of large reinsurers who are having a pretty good year due to the decline in natural catastrophes. The Group earned €380 million ($486 million) in the first six months...

The Hartford Expands Program to Commercial Property Managers

Nov 15 2006 // The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has expanded its real estate insurance program to offer property and liability coverage to commercial property owners and managers. The Hartford’s target market encompasses...

N.C.’s Jones, Duplin Counties Face Deadline for Ernesto Claims

Nov 15 2006 // The deadline for seeking mediation for disputed insurance claims arising from Tropical Storm Ernesto is fast approaching for residential property owners in Jones and Duplin Counties. Residents with disputed property...

Fla. Weighs Special Session to Take Up Property Insurance Ideas

Nov 15 2006 // Insurers would be able to buy more reinsurance from the state’s hurricane catastrophe fund and homeowners would be able to buy lower cost policies offering less than complete coverage if recommendations from a...

Liberty Mutual Property Opens Office in Orange County

Nov 14 2006 // Liberty Mutual Property, a business unit of Liberty Mutual Group, opened a new office in Orange County, Calif., in response to what it’s calling a growing book of middle-market commercial property business in...

Max Re Posts $26.5 Million Q3 Net Income; Names Becker Chairman, CEO

Nov 14 2006 // Bermuda-based Max Re Capital Ltd. reported net income for the three months ended September 30, 2006 of $26.5 million, or $0.42 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $44.2 million, or $0.96 per diluted share, for the...

ACE Europe Names Cryer UK, Ireland Commercial Property, Package Product Manager

Nov 13 2006 // Ace European Group has named Stephanie Cryer as its UK and Ireland Commercial Property and Package Product Manager. She joins ACE from Chubb where she was most recently the London Strategic Marketing manager and previously...

First American Property & Casualty Insurance CIO Named Elite 8

Nov 10 2006 // Santa Ana, Calif.-based First American Property & Casualty Insurance Co. a member of The First American Corp. family of companies, announced that Jim Court, vice president and chief information officer of First...

Commercial Premiums, Except Coastal Property, Continued Falling in 3Q

Nov 7 2006 // Commercial insurance premiums fell slightly in the third quarter of this year, representing a continuation of the trends that occurred in the past two quarters, according to the RIMS Benchmark Survey, which surveys current...

Under Construction: The Green Property Insurance Market

Nov 7 2006 // Douglas G. Hotchkiss, owner of the Dallas, Texas-based Hotchkiss Insurance Agency, hadn’t thought much about building “green” or environmentally-friendly structures. But he now says, “it’s a...

A year after Katrina, commercial property market ‘bleak’ in New Orleans

Nov 6 2006 // Placing of business is harder than it has ever been, agent says We insure a business in French Quarter in New Orleans which was unaffected by the flooding from Katrina and for the most part had fairly limited windstorm...

Crist, Davis promise different insurance plans for Fla.

Nov 6 2006 // Florida gubernatorial hopefuls Charlie Crist and Jim Davis agree that three challenges facing the state are skyrocketing homeowners insurance rates, rising property taxes and public schools that some rank among the...

Consumer group says property-casualty rates drop ‘irrespective’ of tort reform enactment

Nov 6 2006 // There is continuing evidence that the skyrocketing insurance rates of 2000 to 2003 have led to record industry profits, but commercial insurance rates have stabilized or dropped in almost every sector, including medical...

Survey: Commercial market softens, insurer appetite increases

Nov 6 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...