Property and Casualty

CMR Risk & Insurance Services Inc. > Blog > Property and Casualty
April 19, 2023

Trenching and Excavation Safety

It is essential to implement safety measures during trenching and excavation work to help prevent serious injuries and deaths. Especially considering the recent rise in fatalities and penalties involving this type of work, construction employers need to ensure they utilize proper risk management techniques. OSHA Penalties OSHA recently announced new enforcement guidance to deter employers...

April 18, 2023

2023 Fire Season Expected to Produce Above-Average Activity

The 2023 fire season is predicted to be relatively consistent with historical averages, with a slight increase in intensity, according to AccuWeather’s recently released 2023 US Wildfire Forecast. Between 60,000 to 75,000 wildfires are expected to occur, potentially burning 6.5 million to 8.25 million acres of land. These figures align with the average of 68,707...

April 13, 2023

Hardening Property Market Prompts Difficult Conversations, Lengthy Renewals

Hardening property insurance market conditions mean brokers must start conversations early, endure longer renewal processes, and skillfully deliver potentially bad news to clients, according to Risk Placement Services’ 2023 U.S. Property Market Outlook. Property insurers face reinsurance rate hikes between 30% and 80%, worsening and more frequent catastrophes, and inflated rebuilding costs. They’ve responded by...

April 3, 2023

Growing Construction Costs Driving Commercial Property Coverage Gap

Growing costs for construction materials and labor could be driving commercial properties to be undervalued by as much as 30% for underwriting purposes, according to Tüv Süd Global Risk Consultants Corp. A disconnect between reported values and actual values can result in a coverage gap for a commercial policyholder. From November 2021-November 2022, the cost of...

March 30, 2023

Wildfire Preparedness Steps for Businesses

Wildfires are unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fires resulting from lightning and human causes, such as campfires, downed utility wires and cigarette butts. Direct flames, radiant heat from nearby burning plants or structures, and flying embers from wildfires can pose risks to businesses, homes and people. Wildfires can have a profound impact on local economies as...

March 22, 2023

Defining an Occurrence in Insurance

Going as far back as the 1973 policy’s insuring agreement, the insurer pledges to pay on behalf of the insured all sums the insured becomes legally obligated to pay as damages because of bodily injury or property damage caused by an “occurrence.” The current CGL form employs simplified language to promise: “We will pay those...

March 21, 2023

Insuring the Climate Transition: How Can the Construction Industry Confront Escalating Storm Damage?

Like every industry, construction isn’t immune to the effects of global climate change. Adverse weather affects 45% of construction projects globally, a 2021 report from the Air Force Institute of Technology found, and results in billions of dollars of additional expenses and lost revenue. Project delays, damaged materials and supply chain shortages are just some of...

March 9, 2023

A ‘Seismic Shift’ is Coming to Commercial Real Estate, CEO of a Flexible Workspace Giant Says

Employees around the world were forced to adopt fully remote work for the first time when COVID-19 struck. But as the pandemic stretches into its third year, vaccines become more widespread, and hospitalization rates drop, companies have been trying to lure employees back to working in the office full-time once more. JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon...

February 24, 2023

Commercial P&C Prices Rose 8% in the Fourth Quarter of 2022

Commercial property and casualty prices continued to rise in the fourth quarter of 2022 with an average increase of 8% across all accounts sizes, down slightly from 8.1% in the third quarter, according to the latest survey data from the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB). Large businesses saw higher price increases on average...

February 20, 2023

Revealed – Issues Challenging Commercial P&C in Today’s Environment

Commercial property and casualty (P&C) insurance carriers have been delivering strong financial performance in recent years despite the widespread disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and other global events, according to a recent McKinsey report. The report noted that premiums have been driven by extensive risk-adjusted rate hardening on a year-on-year basis, resulting in an...