As I scanned all the 2009 editions of National Underwriter, picking candidates for my annual choices as the year's top insurance stories, one thought kept crossing my mind–it could've been worse.

No one will look back fondly on 2009. The economy was in a shambles. Insurable exposures disappeared at an alarming rate. The investment markets–especially in the first half–were volatile at best.

Insurers saw their net written premiums flat-line and their net income plummet. Washington raced to restructure the entire financial services regulatory system, including insurance.

But all things considered, this recap could have been far more grim, for insurers as well as their agents and brokers.

For one, the property and casualty market, while still soft on the commercial lines side, at least began to stabilize, with the average rate cut much lower these days than at the start of the year.

For another, we were spared any major natural or man-made disasters, compared to the multi-event years we've seen far too often in this decade. The lack of catastrophe losses might leave the industry with some excess capacity–especially for property insurance–but I do not hear any underwriters complaining about a lack of hurricanes, earthquakes or terrorist attacks.

The industry did face one major coverage crisis–over claims for damage from Chinese drywall. But as our recap notes, drywall is far from the dreaded “next asbestos,” with short-term losses potentially large, but long-term exposure very limited.

Thus far, another potential mega-threat–the feared H1N1 flu pandemic–has had a limited impact on insurers, except for a few specialty carriers that offered new covers.

Meanwhile, in Washington, at the start of the year lawmakers seemed determined to sweep the insurance industry into their orbit with some heavy-duty federal regulations. But today, it appears the impact on most insurers will be limited.

Health care reform dominated the debate in D.C., but with a public option dead-on-arrival in the Senate, not only health insurers, but p&c agents generating a huge chunk of their revenue and profits from group health sales can sleep easier.

Claims related to the biggest Ponzi scheme in history started to pour in, but while the insurance industry is indeed paying for some of the losses caused by the notorious Bernie Madoff, the ultimate liability is unlikely to be off the charts.

Like I said, 2009 was awful, but it could have been a lot worse!

The following pages reflect my personal choices for the Top-10 P&C Insurance Stories of 2009. If you feel I've left a big story out, by all means let me know it by e-mailing me at sfriedman@sbmedia.com, or filing a comment on my Dec. 17 blog entry, at www.NUSamSoapBox.com.

In my column this week on page 5, I review my predictions a year ago for what I thought would be 2009's top stories. Flip back a few pages and see how I did. (You can also respond on my Dec. 16 blog entry.)

What will be the top-10 stories of 2010? Check out NU's Jan. 4, 2010, edition for my crystal ball outlook, and give me your feedback on my blog entry that same day.

I very much appreciate your readership and feedback–especially on my blog, where we have had some lively discussions.

All of us here at National Underwriter wish you and yours a very happy, healthy and profitable new year!

NU Editor Sam Friedman lists his choices for the 10 most interesting property and casualty insurance stories of 2009.

1 Invisible Hard Market Nowhere To Be Seen

2 P&C Insurers Might Dodge Regulatory Reform Bullet

3 Health Reform Threatens P&C Agency Income

4 AIG Reinventing Itself On The Fly

5 Greenberg Returns To Center Stage

6 Chinese Drywall Won't Be Next Asbestos

7 Madoff Might Be Scourge Of Insurers

8 Calm Winds Leave NFIP Reform Adrift

9 Contingency Fee Firestorm Reignites

10 Swine Flu Bug Leaves Firms Exposed

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NU&#039;s Top-10 Insurance Stories Of 2009

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