When Florida suffered through its four-pronged hurricane siegelast year, the insurance industry responded quickly, but not quickenough, according to some critics. Even the infusion of thousandsof adjusters from outside the State of Florida, bolstered bylicensing relaxation from the state's DOI, failed to totallysquelch criticism from multiple fronts.

Now we have the Katrina catastrophe. There's nothingadditionally enlightening that can be said here, at this time. Weall have access to the myriad news outlets, so all parties knowwhat they're in for in the months and years ahead. But do wereally? On Sept. 15th, Ray Nagin, mayor of New Orleans, announcedthat certain sections of the city would be reopened to inhabitantsbeginning the next day, and that overall, the city would reboundand rise to even greater heights than pre-Katrina. And certainly,we keep all the victims in our prayers.

That being said, the Insurance Information Institute again hasraised its insured loss prediction, which now hovers aroundapproximately $80 billion for P & C; but that doesn't countancillary coverages such as BI, tourism losses, income losses, andthe cost of repairs to roads, bridges, levees, and sewer systems.Then, too, we have to tally life insurance coverages for those whodidn't survive Katrina's wrath. All in all, the financial toll forthose concerned will be in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Isthere light at the end of this long, dark tunnel? Eventually, butwe won't see clear emotional sunshine on the Gulf Coast for apainfully long time.