In a survey of the top dogs attending last month's Property-Casualty Insurance Joint Industry Forum, all but three of the 100 responding said Congress would not adopt a National Catastrophe Insurance Plan this year. “I voted three times,” quipped Ed Liddy, chairman, president and CEO of Allstate, which is aggressively pushing an ambitious catastrophe initiative.

Allstate's proposal would establish a federal catastrophe reinsurance fund to back up state facilities. It would be prospectively funded by private carriers paying actuarially sound rates, insists Mr. Liddy.

While his peers on a panel of insurer big shots at the forum mumbled kind words about Allstate's intentions, Mr. Liddy knows he has a steep uphill climb ahead, and that most insurers are not behind him. The debate promises to be nasty if the cat fight that broke out last month is any indication.

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