The Protection Gap In Property Insurance

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The protection gap is the difference between losses that are insured and losses that could or should be insured. The Rutgers Center for Risk and Responsibility Conference on The Protection Gap in Property Insurance,  March 29, 2019, at Rutgers Law School in Camden, addressed the protection gap in residential and commercial property losses and related types of losses in the United States.

The property insurance protection gap can have significant impact on individuals and communities; a property owner who does not have flood insurance may lack the resources to rebuild after a hurricane, for example, and if many property owners lack insurance, an entire community may be hard-pressed to recover.

For our current work on the protection gap, go here

The concept of a protection gap raises several issues discussed at the conference:

What is a Protection Gap?

R.J. Lehmann, R Street Institute
Thomas Santos, American Property Casualty Insurance Association
Adam Scales, Rutgers Law School
Rick Swedloff, Rutgers Law School
Paul Tetrault, Insurance Library Association of Boston
Why and where do protection gaps occur?

Nicholas Insua, Anderson Kill.  Deductibles, retentions, sublimits, coinsurance
Peter Kochenburger, University of Connecticut School of Law.  Intentional harm exclusions
Thomas Loucks, Childress Loucks & Plunkett.  Knowledge gap results in protection gap
Verne Pedro, Merlin Law Group.  Insurance coverage gaps caused by mortgage and lender requirements
Sandy Watts, United Policyholders.  Under-valuation in homeowners insurance and disaster losses leading to protection gaps
Michael Saltzman, Goldberg Segalla. Commentator
Daniel Schwarcz, University of Minnesota Law School.  Commentator

 
What cures are there for protection gaps?

Jay Feinman, Rutgers Law School. Essential Protections for Policyholders
Laura Foggan, Crowell & Moring.  Blockchain, smart contracts, and parametric insurance
Robert Schindler, Rutgers School of Business-Camden.  Unbundling small-loss protection in homeowners insurance to improve large-loss protection
Harold Weston, Georgia State University.  Champagne insurance tastes on a beer budget
Tom Considine, National Conference of Insurance Legislators. Commentator
Sherilyn Pastor, McCarter & English. Commentator