INSURERS OUTNUMBERED.

The article reports that as the new decade approaches, the U.S. insurance industry--on both the property/casualty side and the life/health and employee-benefits side--is faced with a barrage of onslaughts from the nation's social, regulatory and political structures. In the property/casualty arena, insurers are increasingly encountering pressure from consumers, consumer activists, regulators and legislators to change the way they have been doing business for years. On the life/health side, the industry has become the target of legislators seeking additional income to help balance the nation's budget.