The insurance industry's profitability and healthy surplus...

The insurance industry's profitability and healthy surplus in the wake of record catastrophe losses through nine months may turn out to be good news for insurance buyers who have been bracing for possible rate increases. With the price of insurance being determined by the law of supply and demand, and supply being determined by profitability and capacity, countrywide results through nine months may mean that rate increases could be largely limited to those lines and states directly affected by this year's hurricanes.