According to the Insurance Information Institute, although the economic turbulence had a significant adverse impact on the financial performance of U.S. property and casualty insurers last year, the industry nonetheless remains strong at the start of the impending hurricane season.

Dr. Robert Hartwig, president of the Institute, said that the basic explanation for the resilience and strength that P & C insurers have demonstrated during the current and countless past financial crises are attributable to a deeply entrenched and conservative operating philosophy that leads directly to superior risk management strategies

He said insurers necessarily run their business under the assumption that every day is a potential doomsday—because it is.

Despite sizable losses in their investment portfolio, P & C insurers ended 2008 well capitalized by historical standards and prepared for the 2009 hurricane season, which starts on June 1.

Dr. Hartwig pointed out that the ratio of premiums written to available surplus, a simple measure of financial leverage, stood at 0.95 as of December 2008. This meant that for every 95 cents in premium written insurers had $1 in capital on hand as 2008 concluded.

By this measure the industry’s capital position is stronger now than it has been before any of the major catastrophic events over the past quarter century, including the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attack which resulted in insured losses of $32.5 billion or Hurricane Katrina in 2005 with $41 billion in insured losses.