No one could be happier about last year’s relatively storm-free weather than the millions of people who live at the west end of the Atlantic Ocean’s “Hurricane Alley.” But the people employed by the U.S. property and casualty insurance industry can’t rank far behind on the satisfaction scale.

According to the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa’s newsletter, the nation’s insurers handled $7.6 billion in direct insured losses from catastrophes during the first nine months of 2006 compared with $51.1 billion in the same period in 2005.

The industry reported a $24.4 billion net gain in underwriting through the first three quarters of 2006. That compares with a $2.5 billion net loss a year earlier.

Every industry has its ups and downs, but not many are so vulnerable to large-scale incidents beyond their control or prediction.

If climate change actually does create more powerful hurricanes, it’s not likely that any solution will come along in time to ease the worries of the people running insurance companies today. Besides, hurricanes aren’t the only big-time threat to the bottom line.

A report by AIR Worldwide points out, “large population centers in the West and Midwest face the prospect of a major earthquake. A repeat of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake could cause $108 billion in insured losses, while a repeat of the 1812 New Madrid earthquake could cause $88 billion in insured losses.”

As most Iowans know, when the New Madrid fault line shifts, our state will feel the result directly.

In the long run, selling property and casualty insurance and investing the premiums is a great way to make money. U.S. property and casualty companies reported $13.5 billion in overall capital gains in the first three quarters of ’06 compared with $3.8 billion in the same period a year earlier. The strong investment results of the final quarter must have spruced up the numbers even more.

But the managers must ponder the laws of chance every once in a while and wonder: What happens if we run into two or three catastrophe-filled years in a row?