Back in the 1990s, the property-casualty insurance industry underwent a rash of large insurer insolvencies. Today, aside from what's happened to AIG, the current financial services mess has pretty much spared property-casualty insurance companies from insolvencies. However, some investors are voicing concerns about potential insolvencies by insurers that have taken financial hits stemming from write-downs on their investment portfolios.

In its recently released "Insolvency Trends 2009," the National Conference of Insurance Guaranty Funds (NCIGF), the Indianapolis-based nonprofit trade association for state guaranty funds, takes a look at developing trends on the state and national levels (for a copy of the report, go to www.ncigf.org and assures us that the system can handle whatever lies ahead.

AA&B recently spoke with NCIGF president and CEO Roger Schmelzer about what he sees as the future of the system.