Insurers benefited from investments, weather, Moody's says

U.S. property and casualty insurers, a group including Travelers Cos. and Northbrook-based Allstate Corp., benefited this year from gains in the value of some holdings and lower than average costs from storms, Moody's Investors Service said.

"Given the recovery in investment markets that took place during 2009, and a relatively low level of losses from natural catastrophes such as hurricanes, we expect a substantial improvement in many of the financial ratios that we use to assess the credit strength of the P&C insurance industry," Moody's analysts led by Paul Bauer said in a statement today.