It Figures

$6.8 Billion

A decline in both real and nominal GDP, a rising unemployment rate and decreasing tort activity as a result of a lower level of economic activity helped drive tort costs down by 2.7 percent, or $6.8 billion, according to an Update on U.S. Tort Cost Trends from Towers Watson. In total, the U.S. tort system cost $248.1 billion in 2009. That total translates to $808 per person, versus $838 per person in 2008. The 2010 report analyzes U.S. tort costs from 1950 through 2009, with projections through 2012.

$500 Million

The property/casualty small business sector — those accounts with less than 50 employees — has shrunk substantially since 2007, and there has been a dramatic shift in market share among small, mid-sized and large insurers. The insurance market is shifting from smaller insurers with less than $500 million in premium to midsized and larger insurers, according to a new study by Conning Research & Consulting.