2008 Real Estate Malpractice Report Shows Decade of Losses
Summary
The Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration published its 2008 Real Estate Malpractice Insurance Report covering data from 1999 to 2008. The report found that real estate malpractice insurance operated at a loss for the decade, with losses plus defense costs reaching 230 percent of premium over 10 years and 161 percent over 5 years. In 2008, 89 claims closed with 18 resulting in payment, and the average claim payment was $11,802.
What changed
The Missouri DIFP published its annual real estate malpractice insurance report covering 1999-2008. The report documents that this line of insurance produced losses every year of the decade, with total losses and defense costs equaling 230 percent of premiums collected over ten years. The most common claim allegation (76 percent) involved failure to disclose a material fact about a property. Only six insurers sold real estate malpractice policies in 2008, with Continental Casualty holding a 70 percent market share.
Real estate professionals and insurers should note the report's findings for risk management purposes, though this is an informational document that does not create new regulatory obligations. The data may inform insurance purchasing decisions and professional liability risk assessments.
Archived snapshot
Apr 17, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
2008REALESTATEMALPRACTICEREPORT FROMTHEDEPARTMENTOFINSURANCE,FINANCIALINSTITUTIONSAND PROFESSIONALREGISTRATION
The2008RealEstateMalpracticeReportfromtheMissouriDepartmentofInsurance,Financial InstitutionsandProfessionalRegistration(DIFP)isreadyforpublication.Thereportcoversthe period1999-2008,andcontainsinformationaboutclaims arisingfromallegederrorsor omissionsassociatedwithrealestatetr ansactions.Amongthehighlights:
Therealestatemalpracticelineofbusinesshasoperatedatalossoverthelastdecade.•
Lossesplusdefensecostsequal230percentofpremiumoverthelasttenyears,and161 percentofpremiumoverthelastfiveyears.
In2008,realestatemalpracticeinsurerspaidclaimsequalto60percentofpremium.•
Anadditional59percentwaspaidoutfordefenseandothercostsassociatedwith defendingtheirinsureds.
Realestatemalpractic eis arelativelysmalllineofbusiness.In2008,only89claims•
wereclosed,andonly18claimsresultedinpayment.
Inaddition,averageclaimspaymentsarerelativelysmallcomparedtootherliability•
lines.Forexample,theaveragemedicalmalpracticepaymentin2008wasnearly $300,000,whiletheaveragelegalmalpracticeclaimwas$84,000.Averagerealestate malpracticepaymentsrarelyexceed$15,000,andarefrequentlylessthan$5,000.The averagepaymentin 2008was$11,802.
Realestateprofessionalshavefewercompaniestochoosefromforthislineof•
insurancecomparedtootherproperty&casualtylines.In2008,onlysixcompaniessold suchpolicies,andonecompany,ContinentalCasualty,maintainsa70percentmarket share.
Byfarthemostcommonallegederrororomissionwasafailuretodiscloseamaterial•
factaboutaproperty,givingriseto76percentofclaimsbetween1999and2008.
Thereportisavailableatthislink:http://insurance.mo.gov/reports/remal/index.htm
Related changes
Get daily alerts for MO REC Press Releases
Daily digest delivered to your inbox.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
About this page
Every important government, regulator, and court update from around the world. One place. Real-time. Free. Our mission
Source document text, dates, docket IDs, and authority are extracted directly from MO DIFP.
The summary, classification, recommended actions, deadlines, and penalty information are AI-generated from the original text and may contain errors. Always verify against the source document.
Classification
Who this affects
Taxonomy
Browse Categories
Get alerts for this source
We'll email you when MO REC Press Releases publishes new changes.
Subscribed!
Optional. Filters your digest to exactly the updates that matter to you.