U.S. property and casualty companies have clearly improved the strength of their reserves, and insurer shortfalls are no longer large enough to trigger downgrades for most companies, Moody's Investors Service said.

As of 2004, non-asbestos reserves for insurers are deficient by $4-to-$8 billion, or 1-to-2 percent of carried reserves, Moody's said in a report.

The firm said that individual estimates for the top 50 primary insurers suggest that group is collectively deficient by $2 billion, or 1.1 percent of carried reserves analyzed.

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