Even as some insurance industry bonuses draw criticism, Jack Windolf, the chief executive officer of Bollinger Insurance Solutions brokerage, is drawing national acclaim for dishing out $1,000 to all 434 company employees from his own pocket.

Pushed up by limited capacity, U.S. property-catastrophe reinsurance rates for April 1 renewals had increases up to 14 percent for national programs, a reinsurance brokerage reported.

At a time when many are suffering from the collapse of financial institutions and other key sectors through no fault of their own, the insurance industry seems committed to greater opacity, and indeed, compounding the hardship of working families.

Between 1991 and 2004, U.S. insurers paid over $24 billion on asbestos claims, according to the Insurance Information Institute in a report published in October 2008.