In honor of the national holiday that coincides with this issue of NU, we thought we’d serve up a feast of items about which P&C pros (and NU’s editors) can be thankful.

And if your families are anything like ours, going around the table on Turkey Day and asking for reasons for thanks nets answers both serious and (hopefully) humorous. So we offer our list in that same inclusive spirit.

No Hurricane Horrors: Not to dismiss the very real (and very far inland) damage caused by Irene, but this year’s wind season was relatively benign—a hugely welcome respite after an especially destructive spring.

A Risk-Ready City Saves Countless Lives: A big thanks to all those city officials and others in Joplin, Mo., who so successfully hammered home the message of tornado preparedness to its citizens. Considering the mind-blowing power and size of that May storm, the fact that thousands weren’t killed is a testament to the municipality’s excellent mitigation strategies.

10 (Mostly) Terror-Free Years: While isolated and tragic incidents have occurred, we have gone a full decade with no large-scale terrorist attacks on our soil. So a bipartisan “thank you” to Presidents Bush and Obama.

Rising Risk Managers: Thanks, in part, to disasters both man-made (financial meltdown) and natural (Japanese quake/ tsunami and its supply-chain implications), the concept of enterprise risk management has never been more top of mind in the C-suite—and the stature of risk managers has never been higher.

Spitzer Spiked: The specter of ex-Gov. Eliot becoming a major TV star—and using his popularity to launch self- promotional investigations into the insurance industry—was exorcised when his CNN TV show was mercifully cancelled.

Telemetric Technology: While driver-tracking devices have been around for years, they finally seem to be reaching a tipping point in consumer acceptance this year. We’re thankful for what should yield more refined data for assessing rates—and, hopefully, safer roads.

Crazy Claims: For us journalists, some of our favorite stories to report center around the wacky messes in which insureds can so reliably find themselves—so we’re thankful for those claims revolving around high heels, invisibility potions—and multiperson underwear.

Healthier Pricing: With an audience comprised of those who both buy and sell insurance, we can’t root for rates to swing one way or the other. But we definitely can be in favor of a healthy market—and the disconnect of the last few years between premiums and the true costs of the risks being insured was simply not a sustainable situation. So we’re thankful—and we think everybody can be—that prices seem to be stabilizing.

Engaged Readers: Whether commenting on our articles online, contributing a column or a blog, serving as a source for a story, or letting us know via email or phone why are assessments are off-base, the readers of NU clearly care and want to get involved with the P&C conversation—and for that, we are truly grateful. And we resolve (what with the New Year right around the corner) to give you even more opportunities to participate in our industry coverage next year.

Home, Sweet Home: And on this all-American holiday, celebrated by everyone regardless of creed (even vegetarians), we’d like to end by noting we’re thankful that we live in a country that allows the entrepreneurial creativity of its citizens to flourish—and its press to report the truth, whatever the consequences. May it always be so.

Wishing you and yours a very happy (and claims-free) Thanksgiving.

The Editors of National Underwriter

Special Reports /

Offering Thanks

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