Covered by a TARP?

Reports have been circulating that insurance companies were “getting in line” to receive money from the $700 billion bailout, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), passed by Congress in October.

But not every insurance company is in favor of a handout from Joe Taxpayer. Says Charles Chamness, president and CEO of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), “As an industry, property/casualty insurance companies, particularly the nation’s mutual insurance companies, are well capitalized and have adequate reserves to pay claims. NAMIC’s policy . . . is to oppose the expansion of Treasury’s Capital Purchase Program to include the property/casualty insurance industry.”