Consumers of mass-produced products are accustomed to seeing guidance on packaging and instruction manuals. But where are the users guides to insurance policies?

Uncertainty and risk aversion trumped other, more favorable mergers and acquisitions factors present in 2013 to drive U.S. property and casualty M&A activity to its lowest level since 2008-09.

Many property and casualty CFOs agree with what large brokers, analysts and industry observers have been saying: Alternative capital is holding down reinsurance rates, contributing to a market that is softer than the primary market.

Superstorm Sandy may have provided the most persuasive argument yet for the benefits of insurance coverage designed specifically for the owners of high-value homes.