Latest Property Headlines

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

Business Interruption Claimants Like How Some Localities Worded Emergency Orders

May 15 2020 // Cities and counties across the country may have handed plaintiff’s attorneys an argument to use in lawsuits against insurers that seek business-interruption coverage for losses caused by coronavirus closure...

Aon Forms Intellectual Property Liability MGA; Taps Lewis to Lead

May 15 2020 // Aon has established an intellectual property liability underwriting platform with levels of capacity it says is the largest known delegated capacity for the risk. IP underwriter Ian Lewis has joined the company to...

Commercial Insurance Rates in Q1 Rise 14%, Even Before Impact of COVID-19: Marsh

May 12 2020 // Global average commercial insurance prices increased 14% in the first quarter of 2020 – but the rate hikes were not due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to insurance broker Marsh in its quarterly Global Insurance...

Florida Market Study Will Evaluate Exposures, Strategies for Citizens Property Insurance

May 12 2020 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida’s insurer of last resort, has moved forward with an independent study that will evaluate the insurer’s potential exposures from the state’s troubled property...

Viewpoint: Insurance Denials, Proposed Legislation Raise Concerns

May 6 2020 // The arrival and spread of COVID-19 has had significant and far-reaching social and economic impacts upon individuals and businesses throughout the United States. In an effort to curtail the spread of the virus, local and...

Business Income, COVID-19, and Plaintiff Attorneys: They Keep Trying

May 6 2020 // “I think there was an attempt to dissuade the public from filing these claims and to shape the public opinion that this was not property damage,” said Steven C. Marks, managing partner at Miami-based Podhurst...

MGA Platform OneAdvent Buys Property MGA Modus from CFC Underwriting

May 6 2020 // OneAdvent, a London-based managing general agent (MGA) platform, announced the acquisition of Modus Underwriting Ltd., a digital-first MGA focused on providing niche property insurance products to brokers across the...

Legal Sea Foods Restaurant Sues Over Business Losses Under Policy Issued March 1

May 6 2020 // A popular seafood restaurant chain that has been shuttered by the coronavirus and restrictions on dining has gone to court to get its insurer to pay for its business interruption losses. It believes its insurer is...

Berkshire Discloses Q1 Insurance Results; Buffett Talks Coronavirus Impact

May 4 2020 // Berkshire Hathaway’s property/casualty insurance and reinsurance businesses reported a first quarter underwriting profit of $747 million before taxes, nearly double the pretax underwriting profit of $377 million...

Penn. High Court Deals Potential Blow To Carriers’ Denial Of Business Income Claims

May 1 2020 // In a case where no insurance company or insurance claim was involved, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a ruling that could potentially negate one of the insurance industry’s standard bases for denial of coverage...

Travelers, W.R. Berkley CEOs Sound Alarm Over Coronavirus Lawsuits, Workers’ Comp

Apr 23 2020 // During an earnings conference call Tuesday, the leader of Travelers insurance alerted listeners to the possibility that frivolous lawsuits by plaintiffs lawyers could slow down the economic recovery from COVID-19...

Florida Dive Shop Alleges Insurer Breach of Contract, Bad Faith in BI Denial Suit

Apr 22 2020 // A dive shop in South Florida is one of the first businesses in the state to file suit against its insurer for the denial of a business interruption claim initiated because of the current coronavirus pandemic. The lawsuit,...

Latest Class Actions Over Business Interruption Target 6 Insurers

Apr 21 2020 // A Minnesota dentist, an Ohio bridal shop and a New York pizzeria are among six small businesses that are the latest to sue insurers seeking compensation for business interruption claims due to the coronavirus crisis. The...

Travelers, Insured Law Firm Spar Over Civil Authority Business Income Loss Claim

Apr 21 2020 // Travelers Cos. has gone to federal court in California seeking a declaratory judgment that it is not obligated to pay any business income losses of a law firm it has insured under two business owner policies. Its law firm...

Why Leaders Need to Resist Rewriting Insurance Contract Language

Apr 16 2020 // Soon after the attacks on the World Trade Center and other locations on the morning of September 11th, President Bush declared that the atrocities were “an act of war.” That statement prompted a call to me from...

Kelley, from AmWINS, Joins Hanover as President of Specialty Industrial Property Team

Apr 15 2020 // The Hanover Insurance Group reported that James A. Kelley has been appointed president of Hanover Specialty Industrial Property. Kelley will be responsible for the company’s portfolio of insurance for complex high...

Olympus Insurance of Florida Appoints Citizens’ Bitar as CEO

Apr 13 2020 // Gemini Financial Holdings Corporation (GFHC), the parent company of Olympus Insurance Company, has hired Steve Bitar, former chief of Underwriting and Agency Services for Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, will...

Anticipated Coronavirus Claims Scenarios Across Major Coverage Lines: Viewpoint

Apr 9 2020 // As the COVID-19 pandemic has progressed over the past several months, participants in the insurance industry have recognized the likelihood of a resulting increase in claims volume. Much of the early focus has been on the...

BMS Appoints Broadnax to U.S. Property Facultative Team in Atlanta

Apr 8 2020 // BMS Group (BMS), the independent specialist (re)insurance broker, has appointed Larry Broadnax as senior vice president, Property Facultative Leader, effective April 15. He will be based in Atlanta and report to Pete...

This Insurance Would Have Helped in Coronavirus Crisis But Nobody Bought It

Apr 3 2020 // Like everyone else, Peter Lacovara is coping with COVID-19, working at home to limit contagion to the coronavirus and stay healthy. He’s also plugging away trying to keep businesses healthy, as well. In his role as a...