California juries are handing down million-dollar awards in lawsuits alleging apartment complex owners have failed to maintain ‘habitable’ properties. Insurers, concerned the litigation trend could spread, are adding exclusions to limit their risk. Brokers need to be aware of the impact habitability litigation and coverage restrictions can have on client property programs.

Chemicals commonly used in fire-fighting foams and a wide range of household items, from non-stick cookware to stain-resistant carpet, are turning up more often as exclusions on insurance policies. That’s due to a growing wave of litigation over water contamination and rising concerns among insurers that the chemicals per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, could expose them to the same kind of expensive, unanticipated claims as asbestos did a generation ago. While property owners may see more scrutiny over PFAS, environmental insurance can still provide effective risk transfer in many cases.

The construction industry has seen significant growth over the last several years. However, emerging trends such as large rate increases and reductions in excess capacity are posing challenges for construction insureds as the insurance market hardens. An increase in high-value claim payments and settlements, labor shortages, and more careful deployment of underwriting capacity are all factors adding difficulty to the state of the market across the country.

After years of losses in the multifamily habitational market, insurers have become far more cautious for both property and casualty coverages, cutting back capacity or even leaving the market altogether. Rates and deductibles have been rising—sometimes significantly—as carriers, more closely scrutinize the risks they are willing to entertain while adding a variety of exclusions.

In an increasingly connected world, many cyber insurers are reporting a significant increase in social engineering claims — particularly at organizations involved in real estate and other financial services. That means retail agents and their insureds can expect to see some changes in the marketplace. As social engineering scams increase, some insurers are reducing cybercrime limits, raising premiums for cybercrime coverage, requiring policyholders to take risk mitigation steps or withdrawing from covering cybercrime altogether.