Uncertainty can prove costly when it comes to purchasing property insurance. When pricing catastrophe risks, underwriters must be able to quantify them accurately. Where uncertainties arise, underwriters often adjust prices in an attempt to compensate for the unknown or decline the risk entirely. Uncertainty also tends to drive up the loss estimates produced by CAT modeling tools used to help underwrite property coverage today. To avoid paying unnecessarily high prices, insureds should provide detailed data that creates a complete and accurate picture of their exposures in a schedule of values. Complete submissions based on more precise data are likely to receive a warmer welcome from underwriters who have seen an increase in submission volume in the current market. Brokers that can provide a detailed catastrophe risk assessment report using the latest modeling technology can help clients make more informed decisions about risk transfer strategies and better position them to achieve the most cost-effective insurance program.

In 2021, 19-year-old Orlando student Miya Marcano was tragically killed in her apartment by a 27-year-old maintenance employee with access to her apartment complex’s master key fob. In response to this tragedy and a growing trend of violence, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 898, known as “Miya’s Law,” at the end of June 2022. (sources 1, 2)

Prevention or mitigation of a cyber event begins with an organization recognizing its unique vulnerabilities and how to address them through cyber risk management. An increasing number of cyber underwriters are utilizing security scans during the application process to identify these weaknesses. The results are often used to make underwriting decisions, and clients are typically required to favorably address issues prior to binding coverage.

The excess habitational market has been slowly hardening over the last several years, but it has accelerated over the last 2-3 years. Excess habitational premiums have been rising due to numerous factors including insurance carriers finding that they have been inadequately funded to cover the growing frequency and severity of claims in today’s litigious environment. There are now limited excess options within the first $10M, especially in the lead position. While some new capacity has started to filter into the marketplace over the last several months, few want to play in the lead $5M.

The representations and warranties put forth by a seller are critical components of business mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In a traditional M&A transaction, the seller agrees to indemnify the buyer for a set period of time against breaches of their representations and warranties. The indemnity is often backed by an escrowed portion of the proceeds otherwise payable at closing. This usually amounts to around 10% to 15% of the proceeds for 1 – 2 years. However, the emerging use of representations and warranties insurance is changing or eliminating this traditional structure for many M&A deals (source 1).