How our industry prepares for and performs during a hurricane affects not only our customers, but the tone of the media coverage our industry receives and how state and national lawmakers treat our industry in a post-catastrophic environment. We must be ever mindful that following a storm, all of our company employees, agents and other industry professionals become valuable ambassadors and important voices for our industry.

While catastrophes are unforeseeable, advanced preparations can facilitate a rapid response to afflicted areas. By working in advance to ensure there is coordination among responders, regulators and other policymakers, the needs of consumers become paramount because we all have a stake in protecting our families, businesses and communities. In a word, all of our preparations are designed to provide stability.

This stability is needed in a time when we are seeing more frequent and more damaging natural catastrophes. Eight of the 10 costliest U.S. hurricanes have occurred in just the last 6 years. Despite being tested by natural catastrophes over the past decade, home, auto and business insurers have remained strong and stable.

Additionally, the property-casualty insurance industry weathered the financial crisis that began in mid-2007 and saw a substantial and sustained rebound in 2009. By maintaining healthy capital positions, insurers have met these economic challenges and retained the ability to pay losses resulting from major catastrophic events. It is also notable that the recovery occurred despite the fact that insurance premium revenue fell 3.7 percent–the sixth consecutive year of declining returns from premiums. This underscores the continued strength and stability of home, auto and business insurers.

Even in the current recession, a deluge of claims does not threaten the industry's ability to be there for their customers, because property- casualty insurers operate in a conservative manner and consumers come first. Because the industry invests in conservative, highly liquid investments, the money is there to pay claims when needed.

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We also have a track record of reliability. According to the Insurance Information Institute, home and business insurers paid more than $41 billion in clams after Hurricane Katrina, and those insurance payments played a significant role in fueling the economic reconstruction along the Gulf Coast.

Home, auto and business insurers have also demonstrated that we are on the scene quickly to assess policyholder damage and expedite payments that allow for repairs, replacement and rebuilding as fast as possible. In 2004, for example, there were about 2 million hurricane-related damage claims, valued at $22.9 billion. More than 95 percent of those claims were paid within four months–most of them sooner.

As insurers, our main product is a promise–that we will be there when our customers need us most. Our track record proves that they can count on us to keep that promise. While we hope that disaster does not occur, we will be there to stand by our customers and their families in their time of need. It's what we do.