Report Says 5 Insurers Could Face Insolvency

A consumer group said Monday that five of the nation’s top 20 property and casualty insurance companies would be threatened with insolvency in the event of a severe economic downturn.

Spokesmen for four of the firms took issue with the report by the Ralph Nader organization Public Citizen and said the companies are healthy. Comment was not immediately available from the fifth firm.

“They either used the wrong facts or they got the wrong numbers,” said Howard Smith, senior vice president and comptroller for the American International Group.

In addition to AIG, the companies listed as potentially at risk were Aetna, the Hartford, Liberty Mutual and United States Fidelity & Guaranty.