Oh, wow. The "actuarial community" disagrees! Imagine that!!
You're kidding me, right? You're example of a report being "discredited" by the Actuary Community is like a global warming report being "discredited" by an energy company!
Insurance Companies Post Record Profits 10 years after Tort Reform:
Ten years after so-called “tort reform” legislation, insurance companies that offer property, liability and casualty coverage are reporting record profits for 2005.
The tort reform movement in Texas successfully limited the damages that individuals could win by bringing civil suits or “torts” against corporations. In 1995, the Texas Legislature capped the payments on suffering, mental anguish and non-economic damages at $250,000 per provider per defendant. Injured individuals are still allowed full compensation for “actual damages,” such as the cost of ongoing medical treatment or the loss of income.
U.S. property and casualty industry recorded an underwriting profit of $15.1 billion for the first six months of 2006, a 31.8 percent increase over the first half of 2005, according to a September insurance industry report from AM Best.
“In recent years the insurance industry's profits have grown exponentially in comparison to the past three decades,” said Ruth Widdoes, branch manager with A-Affordable Insurance Co.
Despite near-record losses from hurricanes along the Texas Gulf Coast during 2005, the property and casualty insurance industry registered a $121 billion increase in total assets during the year. In fact, industry assets increased 9.4 percent in each of the last two years.
By comparison, insurance industry investments in bonds rose 7.5 percent and its stock investments increased 10.5 percent in 2005 – suggesting that most of the asset growth came from retained earnings rather than from investments. The industry is legally required to hold reserves and to place part of its assets in investments outside the industry to guarantee its ability to pay claims....
Insurance Companies Register Record Profits 10 Years After Tort Reform
And, what exactly am I supposed to garner from this but more evidence of shoddily run business plans?:
From your link:
PHICO collapsed after it expanded across the nation. Now consumers are paying the tab.
PHICO's implosion showed that allegedly risky and negligent insurance business decisions also have contributed significantly to the crisis.
PHICO's failure also raises questions about the state's role in regulating the $58 billion insurance industry in Pennsylvania. The industry's interests so permeate state government — where the top regulators are insurance executives, and some legislators on insurance committees work in the industry they regulate — that some believe even-handed regulation is impossible.
With its rapid decline, allegedly falsified financial reports and heavy costs to the public, PHICO calls to mind another recent corporate collapse.
''There are, just like Enron, supposed to be traps in place to prevent things like this,'' said state Rep. T.J. Rooney, D-Lehigh/Northampton, a member of the House Insurance Committee.
''PHICO didn't get in trouble last week. This is a slope they had been headed down for a while.''
As in the Enron debacle, PHICO's failure swamped many in its wake. Unlike the Enron case, however, lawmakers aren't scrambling to root out the cause and pass laws to prevent a recurrence.
Risky insurance company move also fuels Pa. malpractice crisis -- themorningcall.com
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