Washington, American Samoa Are Worst U.S. Markets for Insurers

American Samoa and Washington, D.C., were the worst U.S. markets for insurers in 2009 as foreclosures and a tsunami in the South Pacific triggered customer payouts.

Insurers in Washington spent 49 percent more on claims and other expenses than the $1.6 billion they collected in premiums last year, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners said today in a report. In American Samoa, a U.S. territory in the South Pacific, carriers paid out more than 13 times the $85,000 of premiums they received.