PC First Half, ‘Good, Bad and Ugly‘

The U.S. property and casualty industry‘s net income after taxes rose 66.4 percent in first-half 2002, even as net worth of the firms was sagging, according to a study by two insurer groups. Insurance Services Office Inc. in Jersey City, N.J., and the National Association of Independent Insurers in Des Plaines, Ill., reported net income for the sector increased to $4.6 billion from $2.8 billion in first-half 2001, primarily because of improved underwriting results. Their study said the industry‘s surplus, or net worth, however, fell 2.3 percent to $282.9 billion at June 30 from $289.6 billion at year-end 2001 because of capital losses on investments. Robert P. Hartwig, senior vice president and chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute in New York, in a statement, called the results "good, bad and ugly."