But that was 20 years-ago. Insurers today use models and other advanced technology to get a better understanding of their risk exposure. Yet, there is concern that some will manage to find themselves caught in the same situation they have in the past. The fallout of the soft market is that in pursuit of premium volume some carriers take too much market share, and have to later deal with the consequences of their poor judgment.

The business executive makes a conscious decision that it is time to leave because the money ain't there anymore. The policyholder, on the other hand is left bewildered.

Customers don't understand why a company, that has taken their premium for years, and never suffered a loss during that period either abandons them with a non-renewal or needs to jack their rates up.

After reporting on this industry for so long, I've come to understand the reasoning behind these decisions by insurers. But try explaining the intricacies of maximum probable loss and catastrophe modeling to the average property owner. Their eyes glaze over. Their attitude turns to fury and disbelief. Insurers are referred to in ways that are more associated with piracy, and agents often have to take the heat for decisions that are out of their hands.

When an insurer leave, as carriers did in the aftermath of Andrew, and have done again in the face of a major natural disaster, customers are left to make a mad scramble for coverage. They aren't happy. Agents aren't happy. And the carrier customers have loyally paid their premiums to for years can bet that their reputation will be tarnished for years.

Word of mouth is a powerful thing. With social media, the ripple effect of negative opinion is magnified considerably.

If there are lessons for insurers to remember as we remember the devastation left behind in the wake of Hurricane Andrew it would be these:

One—don't bite off more than you can chew and two—price risk for exposure not volume.

This industry may not like to admit it, but it is in a peculiar position. It is a business that is built on public trust. Carriers have to balance the faith people place in them to be there to make them whole after a crisis against the stark realities of market forces and keeping the company solvent.

Andrew shows us that sometimes that is a hard balance to make and a lesson some companies fail to remember.