GartnerProperty CasualtyInsurers Association of America.

This figure is well above the the 2009 figure from last year'ssurvey that forecast a spending increase of just 0.2 percent. Thisyear's survey predicts a revenue increase of 5.3 percent, which isin line with the 2009 figure.

"This study is the most comprehensive IT expense statisticsstudy in the property and casualty industry," says Scott Joyner,vice president, information technology for PCI. "The 21 PCI membercompanies that participate in the study averaged $639 million inrevenue and 511 employees."

Companies responded that for 2010, 63 percent of IT spending isdedicated to "lights-on" support, while the remainder of the ITinvestments are dedicated to support business growth andtransformation. "This number is up slightly from 59 percent 2009indicating that some of the spending increase may have been due todelayed maintenance" states Eric Stegman, research director,Gartner.

According to Kimberly Harris-Ferrante, a vice president anddistinguished analyst with Gartner's insurance industry advisoryservice, "P&C insurers are still struggling with reducingoperational costs and justifying the replacement of aging legacysystems. With rising costs of maintenance, it is imperative thatcompanies begin a more aggressive approach to legacy replacement inorder to shift IT spending to more strategic projects which willpromote business growth and transformation."