NU Online News Service, July 26, 3:45 p.m.

In 2009, the property and casualty insurance industry recovered from a devastating global financial crisis that had drained 12 percent from policyholder surplus and nearly erased the net income recorded the year before.

On the underwriting front, however, losses continued to grow in bread-and-butter lines such as private passenger auto, commercial general liability and workers' compensation in 2009, while net written premiums tumbled for the third straight year for all lines taken together.

Line-of-business combined ratio data for the industry in the aggregate, as well as combined ratios for the top 100 groups and companies, based on 2009 net written premiums, are showcased in this week's edition of National Underwriter magazine.

Premiums, loss and expense data for individual insurance companies and groups used for NU's P&C Premium Rankings, along with our traditional midsummer financial report, is based on statutory annual statements filed with insurance regulators.

The data is compiled from the NAIC Annual Statement Database via Highline Data, a data affiliate of National Underwriter.

See related article, http://www.property-casualty.com/Issues/2010/July-26-2010/Pages/PC-Insurer-Bottom-Lines-Recover-But-Combined-Ratios-Worsen-For-Key-Lines.aspx.

Top 100 groups are available at http://www.property-casualty.com/SiteCollectionImages/72610/Chart_Groups.jpg

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