Fear was the most prevalent topic at the IIABA conference in Washington, with inflation, the deepening recession, federal regulation, health care reform and swine flu among the bogeymen raised.

A research firm's finding that closing a loophole for offshore insurers could cost U.S. consumers over $10 billion per year has sparked a heated debate involving some of the nation's biggest coverage buyers and sellers.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has vowed to sign legislation that could raise home coverage rates up to 10 percent for more than one million policyholders with the state-created Citizens Insurance Corp.

The recession may actually have an upside for workers' comp insurers, because contrary to popular belief, fewer people are likely to be injured on the job in an economic downturn, one expert revealed.