Property-casualty insurers are getting rich by "methodically overcharging consumers," reducing coverage, underpaying claims and having taxpayers pay some of the tab for risks that carriers should cover, the Consumer Federation of America charged in its latest salvo against the industry.

Using a number of common measures of financial health, the CFA study found that despite the fact "balance sheets for property-casualty insurers are in better condition overall than at any time in history," with record profits and low losses in recent years, prices remain too high for too many buyers.

The report came under immediate fire from insurer representatives as a repetition of old and "misleading" allegations, with Insurance Information Institute President Robert P. Hartwig calling it "fatally flawed."

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