Personal Lines

PC360 went to Joplin, Mo. last week and spent the day following agents and catastrophe claims reps from State Farm Insurance. This is what we saw.

Floridas 2011 legislative session was the most active in the past 30 yearsespecially in the property insurance arena. Bills dealing with sinkhole reform, replacement cost reform, and Citizens Property Insurance Corp. were at the top of the to-do list for lawmakers.

In the months leading up to Floridas 2011 session, residential property insurance and motor vehicle insurance appeared poised to become significant legislative issues. Indeed, they garnered significant discussion. Their fates, however, were widely divergent.

While Florida insurers have long used catastrophe models to assess portfolio-level catastrophe risk, leading carriers assess catastrophe risk before the policy is underwritten. Incorporating catastrophe modeling into the underwriting process is easier than most assume.

Hanover Insurance Group Inc. said Monday its first-quarter profit fell 30 percent on smaller investment gains.

As it turns out, even Flavor Flav has to have auto insurance while cruising the Vegas strip.