The paper studies property insurance in Britain. It emphasises the following points. In the case of terrorism insurance the government decided to provide cost free stop loss insurance, to prevent the market from breaking down. When the country was hit by subsidence damages, the premiums and excesses for the owners concerned rose dramatically. The fact that contracts can be renegotiated every year, means that the owners have only a very incomplete insurance cover. In Montserrat the insurance companies simply decided to cancel all their policies, when it became clear that the volcano might well destroy every building on the island.