The Ward Group has released its annual list of top 50 P&Cinsurance companies in the U.S., with nine new additions. Eachyear, the Ward Group analyzes the financial performance ofmore than 3,000 U.S. P&C insurance companies and identifies thetop performers. The entire list can be found at the end of thisarticle.

The nine companies new to this year's list include:

• Alleghany Group
• Allstate Insurance Company
• Amica Mutual Insurance Group
• Andover Companies
• CSE Insurance Group
• Franklin Mutual Insurance Group
• Goodville Mutual Casualty Company
• Kentucky Employers' Mutual Insurance
• ProMutual Group

Those who failed to make the 2010 list after being included last year were:

• Central Insurance Companies
• Farmers Mutual Insurance of Nebraska
• Hastings Mutual Insurance Company
• ICW Group Insurance Companies
• Selective Insurance Company of America
• Shelter Insurance Group
• Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Co.
• United Fire & Casualty Group
• Utica National Insurance Group

What makes a top 50 company? Click to the next page to findout.

When compared to the rest of the industry, this year's top 50P&C group of insurance companies produced a 14.3 percent returnon average equity from 2005 to 2009, compared to 9.2 percent forthe P&C industry overall.

Additionally, Ward said its top 50 P&C group compared 7.3points lower for the five year combined ratio (91.4 percentcompared to 98.7 percent) and grew policyholder surplus by 31.6percent compared to 19.1 percent for the industry since 2005. Netpremiums written for the top 50 grew 3.2 percent compared to theindustry's 3.1 percent decline.

"Although we do not directly use expenses as a factor in theWard's 50 evaluation, a common attribute of the top performingsegment is the ability to operate at lower expense ratios," saidJeff Rieder, president of Ward Group, in a release. "Our researchconsistently finds the top companies achieve a proper balancebetween managing expenses and making prudent investments in systemsor processes to meet customer needs and corporate goals."

A two-step process is used to determine the top performers.Companies being considered must first pass minimum thresholds,which include the following:

• Surplus and premiums of at least $50 million for each of thefive years analyzed.
• Net income in at least four of the last five years.
• Risk-based capital ratio of at least 100 percent for each ofthe five years analyzed.
• Compound annual growth in premiums between -10 percent and +40percent.

Companies that pass this initial screening are then measured andscored on the following elements and the top 50 are selected:

• Five-year average return on average equity.
• Five-year average return on average assets.
• Five-year average return on total revenue.
• Five-year growth in revenue.
• Five-year improvement in surplus-to-written-premium.
• Five-year average combined ratio.

To see Ward's complete list of top 50 P&C insurers, click tothe next page.

WARD GROUP'S TOP 50 P&C INSURERS FOR2010

Acuity
Alleghany Group
Allstate Insurance Company
American Modern Insurance Group
Amerisafe

Amica Mutual Insurance Group
Andover Companies
Assurant Group
Auto-Owners Insurance Group*
Balboa Insurance Company

Bear River Mutual Insurance Company
Brethren Mutual Insurance Company
Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company
Capital Insurance Group
Chubb Group

Cincinnati Insurance Group*
CSE Insurance Group
The Commerce Group, Inc.
The Doctors Company
Donegal Insurance Group

Erie Insurance Group
Federated Mutual Group
Fireman's Fund Insurance Group
First Insurance Company of Hawaii, LTD
FM Global

Franklin Mutual Insurance Group
GEICO*
Goodville Mutual Casualty Company
Great American Insurance Companies
HCC Insurance Holdings Group

Island Insurance Companies Group
Kentucky Employers' Mutual Insurance
Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation
Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insur. Co.
North Star Mutual Insurance Company

Ohio Mutual Insurance Group
Old Republic Insurance Group
Philadelphia Insurance Companies
ProAssurance
Progressive Casualty Insurance Company

ProMutual Group
RLI Insurance Group*
Rural Mutual Insurance Company
Safety Insurance Group
Travelers Insurance Group

USAA Group*
Vermont Mutual Insurance Company
Virginia Farm Bureau
W.R. Berkley Corporation Group
Western National Insurance Group

Source: Ward Group, www.wardinc.com

Note: The companies listed above rank as the top performingproperty-casualty companies based on the Ward Group annual analysisof the insurance industry. They each have passed all safety andconsistency screens and have achieved superior performance over thefive years analyzed (2005-2009). Companies are listedalphabetically. An important objective is to benchmark theirperformance as a group with the rest of the property-casualtyinsurance industry. The Ward's 50 list and comparisons based onbenchmarks set by Ward's 50 companies are available in Ward'sResults^(R), an insurance industry financial referenceseries.

^{* 20-year recipient, 1991-2010.}