Improved vehicle design has certainly had some impact on the reduction of accidents, but the decreased number of accidents reported to police agencies is more likely due to financial woes.

Signs are emerging that severe temperatures and lack of rain may cause steep losses in the Midwests corn crop, but insurers remain hopeful that beneficial rains will fall and help crops in troubled areas of the country.

Windstorms that exploded through the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic late last week have left thousands without power and insurers dealing with an increasing number of claims that are rising into the tens of thousands.

The Japanese property and casualty insurance industry is expected to improve its earnings within the next year-and-a-half as adjustments the industry has made takes effect, says Moodys Rating Service.