Opinion: A Travelers tale

Travelers leaders buttressed expectations for commercial rate hikes
yesterday as the property and casualty industry copes with third
quarter catastrophe losses and years of price erosion.
CEO Alan Schnitzer, in commenting on the company's
surprisingly robustthird quarter results, discussed the prospects for generally
higher rates heading into next year.
"Big events impact pricing when a material amount of
industry surplus is eroded and/or when the events change the
market's view of risk," Schnit