Irene and Insurers: Less Damage, Excuse to Hike Prices

Hurricane Irene was the 'Perfect Storm' for insurers in a different sense of the cliche. The weakened storm that spared New York city from major damage gave the wealthy and rarely hit Northeast enough of a scare because of ominous weather forecasts leading up the storm that property insurers will be able to raise pricing even more next year, according to a Morgan Stanley analyst.