Latest Property Headlines

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

Beyond the Flood Zone: Storm Surge Multiplies Coastal Vulnerabilities

Apr 30 2010 // “Homeowners can mitigate against wind damage, but they’re powerless, really, to do anything against storm surge,” says one researcher whose job it is to develop ways to determine the vulnerability of...

Florida’s 21st Century Drops Bid to Acquire HomeWise; Gets Rate Hike

Apr 28 2010 // Florida’s 21st Century Holding Co. has dropped its bid to acquire domestic property insurer HomeWise Holdings at the same time it reported that its own Florida property insurance unit it has received approval to...

Stabilization of AIG Continues, Government Reports

Apr 28 2010 // American International Group (AIG) has “remained relatively stable” thanks in great measure to the more than $180 billion in taxpayer assistance the giant insurer has received since March 2008, according to a...

Louisiana Senate Passes Ban on Insurance Cancellations Due to Drywall

Apr 28 2010 // The Louisiana Senate has passed a measure that would ban against property insurers dropping or changing coverage for homes or businesses that contain Chinese-made drywall, which has been blamed for home corrosion and...

Florida Property Insurance Reform Could Happen This Week

Apr 26 2010 // The Florida Senate has got its property insurance reform bill back on the track for the final week of the legislatuve session. After his bill became hung up in debate by amendments last Thursday, Sen. Garrett Richter...

Louisiana Bill Would Ban Insurance Cancellations Due to Chinese Drywall

Apr 23 2010 // A prohibition against insurance companies dropping coverage for homes or businesses that contain corrosive, Chinese-made drywall has advanced in the Louisiana Senate. The bill by Sen. Julie Quinn, R-Metairie, would bar...

Florida CEOs Urge ‘Cost Driver’ Reforms as Legislature Nears End

Apr 21 2010 // The Florida-Based Property Insurers CEO Group, representing 21 carriers, held a media conference today to discuss legislation to address the problems in the state’s property insurance market. The group downplayed the...

Bank Style Regulations Would Raise Insurance Costs, Analyst Says

Apr 21 2010 // Bank style regulation on property/casualty insurers would lead to significant policy error, says a leading insurance industry econmist. “Bank style regulation would needlessly raise insurance costs for hundreds of...

Property, Agricultural Damage Not Major Concern from Volcanic Ash

Apr 20 2010 // While some of the ash from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in southern Iceland has fallen to the earth’s surface, property and agricultural damage is not expected to be a concern, according to a catastrophe risk...

Some Red Flags in Residential Arsons Fly Before the Fire

Apr 19 2010 // Financial stress is the No. 1 reason residential dwellings are intentionally torched, but proving the act of arson is not that easy. In fact, Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics for 2007 show only around 6 percent...

Lockton: Soft Market Pricing Continues to Benefit Insurance Buyers

Apr 19 2010 // Commercial insurance buyers continue to benefit from lower prices and steady or increasing insurance capacity in property/casualty markets, reports the nation’s largest insurance broker. In its newly published...

How Agency Helps Preserve Historic Homes, Business Districts

Apr 16 2010 // While other insurance agents are visiting manufacturing plants, shopping malls and office parks, Brian Phoebus is hanging out in historic homes, renovated museums, art galleries and performing arts theaters. His haunts...

Correction: Crump Group No. 1 Overall Wholesaler

Apr 16 2010 // The original story on the acquisition of Colemont Brokers by AmWINS Group identified the post-merger AmWINS as the largest wholesale broker. But this is only true when considering property/casualty premiums...

P/C Industry’s Net Income Up $25B in 2009; Combined Ratio Improves

Apr 15 2010 // The U.S. property/casualty industry’s profitability as measured by their rate of return on average policyholders’ surplus (or statutory net worth) increased by 5.8 percent in 2009, while private P/C...

Italy’s Mt. Vesuvius Ranked as Europe’s Most Dangerous Volcano

Apr 15 2010 // A major eruption of Italy’s Mount Vesuvius could result in 8,000 fatalities, 13,000 serious injuries and total economic losses of more than $24 billion, says a new study. According to the Willis Research Network...

AmWINS CEO DeCarlo on Colemont Merger, Texas and Going Global

Apr 14 2010 // The acquisition of wholesale insurance broker Colemont Insurance Brokers by its competitor AmWINS Group gives AmWINS entry into international markets for the first time and a bigger presence in Texas, where Colemont is...

A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Lyndon Property Insurance Co.

Apr 8 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of St. Louis, Mo.-based Lyndon Property Insurance Company (Lyndon Property). The outlook for both...

Traditional Property Policies Can Leave Green Buildings Exposed

Apr 8 2010 // With the U.S. Green Building Council forecasting growth in the green building market to double between now and 2013, agents and brokers can expect to see increasing client demand for green insurance coverage. Because...

Federal Judge in New Orleans Awards $2.6M in Chinese Drywall Case

Apr 8 2010 // A federal judge in New Orleans has awarded seven plaintiffs from Virginia more than $2.6 million in a consolidated case involving damage to the plaintiff’s homes as a result of the installation of substandard drywall...

Property Firm Purchases Infamous AIG Party Hotel

Apr 7 2010 // Washington Holdings, a private real estate company, said Tuesday it bought the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort, which became infamous after American International Group Inc executives spent lavishly there weeks after a...