Gift giving has always been a way of expressing love and admiration — unless it's the Federal Government giving you billions of dollars to shore up the house of cards that is this country's current economy. Then it's a sign you've failed as a capitalist.

At times like these, most industries would happily snatch up a “gift.” But P&C insurers aren't like most industries, apparently. “We're doing just fine, thank you,” is essentially what the U.S. Treasury Department heard from insurance groups such as the American Insurance Association (AIA) and the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) when it floated the idea of including insurance companies under the $700 billion emergency economic stabilization package approved by Congress. The two associations together represent more than 1,700 P&C insurers.

“We have surveyed our board of directors, and the substantial majority of the insurers represented by AIA do not support the inclusion of P&C insurers in the Treasury's Capital Purchase Program,” said Evan Greenberg, chairman and CEO of ACE Group and chairman of the AIA. “If made available, they will not elect to participate. Those members believe that, as P&C insurance writers, they are well capitalized and well positioned to weather the current financial market crisis without the assistance of the CPP announced by the Treasury. As a result, the P&C insurers that are members of AIA strongly prefer to compete in the private market and the substantial majority will elect not to participate in the CPP.”