Economic Status of the Property and Casualty Insurance Industry with Special Reference to Virginia

Conditions in the property and casualty insurance industry in the past several years have caused great concern to both the insureds and the insurers. Premium rates for some lines, particularly certain liability coverages, have increased significantly (some observers would say catastrophically). For some businesses and governmental units insurance coverages have either been cancelled or are not available. The situation in the industry has often been referred to as a crisis. And reactions to this crisis have included calls for investigations of the industry and an increased degree of government regulation. Private citizens and business firms have blamed insurance companies; insurance companies have blamed the legal system; representatives of the legal system tend to blame the insurance companies and so on. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of this problem; its dimensions; its probably future direction and possible remedies; and the manner in which it is being dealt with in Virginia