"The actual reason some insurance companies may be hurting is they spent their surplus profits by taking high risk investments which are not paying off. " Two facts you overlook: 1. Investments have ALWAYS been a part of the insurance business. They don't sit around on a stack of money waiting to dole it out, nor do they put it in six million FDIC insured savings accounts. 2. Investment losses are still LOSSES, and what you seem to be missing is that "no money," for whatever reason, equals no money to pay claims. They need to rebuild their cash reserves now, BEFORE the next mega-disaster strikes. I also believe that you underestimate the payouts that a Katrina or a Rita incurs. Ten years of fat gravy can evaporate within weeks, especially when you have local judges ruling that companies have to pay out for claims specifically barred from the policy. (As happened in Mississippi).