Property & Casualty Insurance (P&C)
The core differences between Property and Casualty Coverage
Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance forms the backbone of commercial and personal insurance lines worldwide. Understanding the technical terminology is essential for communicating with brokers, underwriters, and claims handlers in an international environment.
While Property Insurance protects physical assets against direct damage or loss, Casualty Insurance covers legal liability for injury, damage, or financial loss caused to third parties.
| Property Insurance (First-Party) | Casualty Insurance (Third-Party) |
|---|---|
| Protects physical assets (buildings, machinery, inventory). | Protects against legal liabilities (negligence, injury to others). |
| Key Term: Replacement Cost = cost to rebuild/replace without depreciation. | Key Term: Indemnity = compensating third parties for their proven loss. |
| Includes Business Interruption = loss of income following physical damage. | Includes General & Professional Liability = lawsuits and claims. |
| Key Trigger: Direct Physical Loss (fire, storm, theft). | Key Trigger: Legal Liability / Negligence (slips, defective products). |
| Claims Recipient: First Party = financial reimbursement paid directly to the insured. | Claims Recipient: Third Party = financial compensation paid to an injured outsider or customer. |
| Key Term: Actual Cash Value = replacement cost minus physical depreciation. | Key Term: Duty to Defend = insurer covers legal defense fees regardless of lawsuit outcome. |
| Coverage Scope: Named vs. All-Perils = specified risks (fire, explosion) or all risks unless excluded. | Coverage Scope: Occurrence vs. Claims-Made = based on event date vs. formal claim reporting date. |
| Key Policy Element: Coinsurance Clause = penalizes under-insurance relative to full property value. | Key Policy Element: Subrogation Right = insurer seeks recovery from the negligent party after paying out. |
| Includes Equipment Breakdown = sudden mechanical/electrical failure of heavy machinery. | Includes Workers' Compensation = statutory coverage for work-related employee injuries. |
| Includes Inland Marine / Transit = goods and equipment in transit or stored off-site. | Includes Directors & Officers (D&O) = financial loss protection for corporate management mistakes. |
❌ Casualty insurance pays for damage to my own factory building.
✅ Property insurance covers damage to your own physical assets.
✅ Casualty insurance protects you when a visitor slips in your building and sues you.
❌ Deductible is the maximum amount the insurer will pay.
✅ Limit of liability is the maximum amount the insurer will pay.
✅ Deductible is the amount the insured pays out-of-pocket per claim.
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Teil 1: Interaktive Praxisübungen zu P&C Insurance (32 Aufgaben)
1. Property insurance provides protection for ______ assets against direct physical damage.
physical
2. Casualty insurance primarily covers legal liability for injury or damage caused to ______ parties.
third
3. If a customer slips on a wet floor in a shop, the owner's ______ liability policy responds to the lawsuit.
general
4. Following a severe fire, the company claimed ______ interruption to cover lost profits during rebuilding.
business
5. Valuation based on ______ cost pays to rebuild a damaged structure without deducting depreciation.
replacement
6. Actual cash value calculation subtracts ______ from the replacement cost of an asset.
depreciation
7. The policyholder must pay the agreed ______ before the insurer covers the remaining loss amount.
deductible
8. The maximum amount an insurer will pay for a covered loss under a liability contract is called the ______ of liability.
limit
9. Commercial property policies usually cover perils such as fire, explosion, and storm ______.
damage
10. Product ______ insurance protects manufacturers if a defective product injures a consumer.
liability
11. Professional liability insurance is also commonly known as errors and ______ insurance.
omissions
12. Workers' compensation is a branch of casualty insurance that covers employee work-related ______.
injuries
13. An ______-perils policy covers all causes of loss except those specifically excluded in the contract.
all
14. A named-perils policy only provides coverage for risks that are explicitly ______ in the document.
listed
15. Commercial auto liability covers damages resulting from motor vehicle accidents caused by company ______.
drivers
16. Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance protects corporate managers against lawsuits alleging personal ______.
mismanagement
17. Theft, burglary, and vandalism are standard perils covered under commercial ______ lines.
property
18. Third-party bodily injury coverage pays for medical expenses and pain and ______ suffered by victims.
suffering
19. Property policies often contain a ______ clause requiring the insured to carry adequate coverage relative to asset value.
coinsurance
20. Environmental liability insurance protects businesses against remediation costs stemming from accidental ______.
pollution
21. A catastrophe excess of loss contract protects P&C insurers against severe cumulative claims from natural ______.
disasters
22. Cyber liability insurance covers losses resulting from data breaches and network security ______.
failures
23. Equipment breakdown insurance covers physical and financial losses caused by sudden mechanical ______.
failure
24. Occurrence-based liability policies cover claims for injuries that happen during the policy period, regardless of when reported ______.
later
25. Claims-made liability policies only cover claims if both the incident and the claim report occur while the policy is ______.
active
26. Environmental contamination of a neighbor's soil following a chemical leak is covered under ______ insurance.
casualty
27. Structural collapse of a warehouse roof due to heavy snow accumulation is classified as a direct ______ loss.
property
28. If a company's software update crashes a client's server network, the resulting lawsuit is covered by ______ liability.
professional
29. Water damage to office furniture caused by a burst internal pipe is handled under ______ coverage.
first-party
30. Defective manufacturing equipment causing bodily injury to an assembly line worker falls under ______ compensation coverage.
workers'
31. A manufacturer seeking reimbursement for stolen raw materials stored in their warehouse submits a claim under ______ insurance.
property
32. Legal defense costs incurred while defending a board member against shareholder litigation are paid under ______ insurance.
casualty
Teil 2: Fachwissen zu Property & Casualty im internationalen Kontext
Die Sparte Property & Casualty (P&C) erfordert im englischen Sprachraum eine präzise Zuordnung von Risikotypen und Vertragsformen:
1. First-Party vs. Third-Party Coverage
In der P&C-Sparte unterscheidet man strikt nach dem Anspruchsteller:
- First-Party Coverage (Property): Der Versicherte fordert direkt Entschädigung vom eigenen Versicherer für Sachschäden an eigenem Eigentum an.
- Third-Party Coverage (Casualty / Liability): Ein geschädigter Dritter fordert Schadenersatz vom Versicherten. Der Versicherer übernimmt die Abwehr unberechtigter Ansprüche oder stellt den Versicherten von berechtigten Zahlungsverpflichtungen frei.
2. Trigger-Formen in der Haftpflicht: Occurrence vs. Claims-Made
Für die zeitliche Zuordnung eines Schadenfalls in der Casualty-Sparte gibt es zwei Hauptmodelle:
- Occurrence Policy: Entscheidend ist der Zeitpunkt des Schadenereignisses. Die Police leistet auch, wenn die Klage erst Jahre nach Ablauf der Police eingereicht wird.
- Claims-Made Policy: Entscheidend ist der Zeitpunkt der Geltendmachung (Claim). Der Schaden muss innerhalb der aktiven Laufzeit eingetreten sein UND gemeldet werden.
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