ORLANDO--The nation's insurance regulators hope to have proposals for a federal catastrophe program ready by the start of 2007 at the latest, according to Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty,

"Underwriting discipline has improved since the late 1990s, when insurers grossly underpriced to gain market share and relied on investment income to sustain financial strength," said Standard & Poor'

"We've made a lot of progress this year," said Kim Dorgan, executive vice president of federal relations for the ACLI. However, she predicted passage by both chambers could take two to four years, and

New York-based MMC is the parent company of insurance broker Marsh. MMC last year was required to create a compliance committee from its board of directors as part of a settlement amending Marsh busin