What Is Property And Casualty Insurance? (2024)

Property and casualty insurance, commonly referred to as P&C insurance, is a broad term that refers to various types of insurance. In simple terms, it's insurance coverage that helps protect your assets, including the property you own.

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What's the difference between property insurance and casualty insurance?

The "property" portion of P&C insurance refers to protection for property that you own. This includes things like your home, car, motorcycle, golf cart, rental property, or personal possessions. Casualty insurance provides liability protection, which helps protect you if you're found legally responsible for an accident that causes injuries to others or if you damage another person's property.

What are the types of property and casualty insurance?

There are various types of property and casualty insurance, such as:

What does property and casualty insurance cover?

The following examples demonstrate how coverages provided by property and casualty insurance may protect you and your assets:

Car insurance may cover:

  • Injuries to others. Bodily injury liability coverage can pay for medical and legal bills, up to your coverage limits, if you hurt someone with your vehicle. This could be the result of a car accident or hitting a pedestrian.
  • Damage to another's property. Regardless of whether you drive your car into another person's vehicle, mailbox, fence, or other property, liability property damage can pay for the damages you’re liable for, up to your coverage limits.
  • Damage to your vehicle. Comprehensive is an optional auto insurance coverage that can cover incidents out of your control, including theft, vandalism, hitting an animal, fire, glass breakage, and weather-related issues. Collision, also an optional coverage, pays to repair or replace your vehicle if it’s damaged from hitting another vehicle or object.

Homeowners insurance may cover:

  • Damage to your home. If your roof is damaged during a major thunderstorm, dwelling coverage on your homeowners policy may pay to repair the damage exceeding your deductible, up to your coverage limits.
  • Damage to your personal property. If your personal belongings, including furniture, clothing, or electronics are damaged as the result of a covered peril, personal property coverage may pay to replace your possessions, up to your policy’s coverage limits. A deductible may apply.
  • Injuries to others. If someone slips on the stairs in your home and is injured, personal liability coverage may pay their medical bills and your legal costs, up to the coverage limits of your policy.
  • Damage to someone else's property. If you’re legally responsible for someone else’s damages, your home policy’s liability coverage may cover the costs, up to your coverage limits.

Renters insurance may cover:

  • Theft of your belongings: Your apartment gets broken into and some of your stuff gets stolen. Personal property coverage on your renters policy may pay to replace your stolen items, up to your policy limits. A deductible may apply.
  • Injuries to others: If someone is injured at your residence, personal liability coverage may pay for their injuries and your legal costs, up to the coverage limits of your policy.
  • Additional living expenses if you’re forced to live elsewhere: If your residence is being repaired due to a covered loss on your policy, loss of use coverage may pay for certain living expenses, such as groceries and lodging, above what you’d normally spend.

Condo insurance may cover:

  • Damage to your unit and personal belongings: If your unit is damaged from a covered peril , dwelling coverage protects everything from the drywall in. Personal property coverage may pay to repair or replace damaged items, up to your coverage limits, resulting from a covered loss.
  • Injuries to others: If you’re found legally responsible for someone else’s injuries, personal liability coverage may pay their medical bills and your legal costs, up to the coverage limits of your policy.
  • Damage to shared areas of your condo property: Loss assessment coverage may cover an accident in a common area, such as a clubhouse or hallway, if the amount of damage exceeds your condo association’s master policy limits.

How to get property and casualty insurance

What Is Property And Casualty Insurance? (2)

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What Is Property And Casualty Insurance? (3)

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What Is Property And Casualty Insurance? (4)

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What Is Property And Casualty Insurance? (6)

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What Is Property And Casualty Insurance? (2024)

FAQs

What Is Property And Casualty Insurance? ›

What Does Property and Casualty Insurance Cover? P&C insurance primarily covers your physical property and liability for damages to people and their belongings. Coverage can vary significantly depending on the type of property or casualty insurance you obtain.

What does property and casualty insurance mean? ›

Property and casualty insurance is a term describing two forms of broad coverage that financially protect you if the property you own is damaged, lost or stolen (representing the “property” portion of the phrase) or if you cause injury to another person or damage to their property (the “casualty” portion).

What is property and casualty insurance for dummies? ›

Property and Casualty Insurance are types of coverage that help protect your property and those covered by the policy in case of an accident. Property Insurance protects the assets you own. The most common types of property insurance policies are: Homeowners.

Why is property and casualty insurance important? ›

The primary benefit of P&C insurance is the financial protection it offers. Without an insurance policy, individuals or businesses may be left to pay out-of-pocket for losses resulting from accidents or other untoward events.

What is insurance in simple words? ›

What Is Insurance? Insurance is a contract, represented by a policy, in which a policyholder receives financial protection or reimbursem*nt against losses from an insurance company. The company pools clients' risks to make payments more affordable for the insured.

What does a casualty insurance policy cover? ›

Casualty insurance refers to insurance that covers the legal responsibility of individuals and businesses for losses stemming from damage to another's property or an injury to another person. This protection addresses the financial liability that a business or an individual may be legally required to satisfy.

What does casualty include? ›

What Is Casualty Insurance? Casualty insurance is a broad category of insurance coverage for individuals, employers, and businesses against loss of property, damage, or other liabilities. Casualty insurance includes vehicle insurance, liability insurance, and theft insurance.

How do you explain property insurance? ›

Property insurance refers to a series of policies that offer property protection, including structural damage, theft of personal belongings, and liability coverage. Property insurance can include homeowners insurance, renters insurance, flood insurance, and earthquake insurance.

What is the difference between life and P&C insurance? ›

In some markets this type of insurance is known as Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance. Unlike life insurance which covers lives for assured benefits, non-life insurance provides coverage for damages on indemnity basis. It protects insured monetarily by providing money in the event of an accidental loss.

What do property and casualty insurance companies invest in? ›

Property/casualty insurers invest primarily in safe, liquid securities, mainly bonds. These provide stability against underwriting results, which can vary considerably from year to year. The majority of bonds are government issued or are high-grade corporates.

What is the main purpose of property insurance? ›

Homeowner's insurance pays for losses and damage to your property if something unexpected happens, like a fire or burglary. When you have a mortgage, your lender wants to make sure your property is protected by insurance.

What are the three hazards most related to property and casualty insurance? ›

To determine the exposure to risk is to ask, "How vulnerable is the insured item to loss?" Study the three types of hazards: (1) Physical, (2) moral, and (3) morale. All three will be important for you to remember. Distinguishing physical hazards from the other two (moral and morale) is relatively easy.

Is property insurance worth it? ›

Home insurance protects you from lawsuits

There's always a chance a visitor could get hurt on your property, and if that injury leads to medical fees (aka bodily injury), you could be sued for damages. This type of coverage is called personal liability, and it's really important to have.

What is the basic knowledge of insurance? ›

Insurance is a legal agreement between two parties – the insurer and the insured, also known as insurance coverage or insurance policy. The insurer provides financial coverage for the losses of the insured that s/he may bear under certain circ*mstances.

What are the 7 principles of insurance? ›

In insurance, there are 7 basic principles that should be upheld, ie Insurable interest, Utmost good faith, proximate cause, indemnity, subrogation, contribution and loss of minimization.

What are the top 3 types of insurance? ›

Then we examine in greater detail the three most important types of insurance: property, liability, and life.

What are the three main types of property insurance coverage? ›

There are three types of property insurance coverage: replacement cost, actual cash value, and extended replacement costs.

Which of the following regulates property and casualty insurance? ›

California Code of Regulations (CCR)

What are the different types of insurance? ›

For Consumers
  • Auto.
  • Health.
  • Home.
  • Life.
  • Long-term care.
  • Annuities.
  • Business.
  • Boat/marine.

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