Insurance News Archive
Commercial property insurance holders 'still feeling recession'
Posted by Michael Brown
Commercial property insurance policyholders are still feeling the after-effects of the recession, with retail occupiers continuing to go out of business, according to an expert.
Ian Fletcher, director of policy for real estate at the British Property Federation, said that the nature of the sector means that it was late going into the recession, but also coming out of it.
He said that commercial property insurance policyholders are exposed to having their loans called in by banks, although the industry have worked hard with financiers to ensure that is not often the case.
Some of the large companies have raised capital through the likes of rights issues, but that is not necessarily an option for smaller firms, he added.
Mr Fletcher confirmed that banks had said they would not lend at the same rate they have in previous boom times.
He added the industry is grateful for the support it has received from financial institutions.
Recent figures from the Bank of England showed that commercial property insurance policyholders may be at a greater risk of defaulting on their debts due to declining rental values.
22 Dec 2009
