The threat of renewed attacks is something on the list of things that keeps us up at night. The industry has been impacted to some degree by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The cost is being passed on to the consumers through the prices of cars, refrigerators and other commodities and services as businesses must pay higher rates for insurance to cover these losses. It's a growing problem, not just for the insurance industry, but also for all commerce. The industry believes people must have the right to bring class actions, but there needs to be a little more structure and process to ensure that it is fair and not financially burdensome to the consumer. The issue is the growing cost of indemnification, which is ultimately passed on to the consumer in higher rates. However, the growth in class action litigation has created a great dilemma because of the huge expense associated with it versus the benefit to the consumer. I can't speak for others, but I believe that people have the right to file lawsuits, the right to have their cases heard and the right to be appropriately compensated for damages if they have been wronged. Another issue that would change the face of the industry is class-action-lawsuit reform. Companies could be quicker to market with products and pricing changes, quicker to market in licensing agents across state lines and quicker to become new entrants to markets to provide greater capacity for writing new business.