Insurance News Archive

Insurers step up to the plate for property owners' quotes

A study by real-estate adviser CBRE Group Inc has shown that property owners are increasingly being offered better terms on their commercial property insurance packages by insurers rather than banks.

Because of impressive maximum loan-to-value (LTV) levels of 69 per cent as well as typical margins of 2.4 per cent, designated insurers are offering much more impressive deals than those of banks.

Natale Giostra, head of UK& EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) debt advisory at CBRE, said: "Insurance companies continued to expand their lending capacities throughout 2011, albeit the impact of their growing presence is mainly felt at the very prime end of the real estate market."

Insurers currently account for 14 per cent of all real estate lenders which are open to new businesses in the UK. However CBRE predicts this figure could rise to as much as 20 per cent in the near future.

Some of the deals in the study, offered by insurers, stood at 20-30 basis points below the market average of 66.2 per cent.

Posted by Michael Brown

13 Dec 2011