Posted On: September 25, 2008, 4:06 pm CDT

Posted By: Bill Stuart

Keep reading - is this who you're putting your best business with?

EMC Insurance Group Inc. (Nasdaq: EMCI) today announced that losses associated with Hurricanes Gustav and Ike are expected to range from approximately $8.2 million to $9.0 million, or $0.39 to $.43 per share after tax.

Property and casualty insurer Harleysville Group Inc. - rated A minus by AM Best - said Tuesday that it holds $11 million worth of securities from investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and mega-insurer American International Group.

Shares of State Auto Financial Corp. fell sharply Monday after an analyst downgraded the insurance company's stock, calling it overpriced after steep gains last week.

Cincinnati, which still holds securities of American International Group Inc worth about $81 million as of September 15, sees an impairment charge of about $50 million from securities related to the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Cincinnati said it had sold most of the $24 million of Lehman preferred stock and debt securities held at June 30, and expects to take a related charge of $9 million in third quarter.

United Fire & Casualty Co. (UFCS) projected up to $20 million in third-quarter pretax losses from hurricanes Gustav and Ike and added a default by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEHMQ) would cut earnings by another $4 million.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services it has lowered its outlook on Selective Insurance Group Inc. and its subsidiaries to negative from stable, citing concerns that recent profitability has not been as strong as the ratings agency expected at the current rating level, as well as the decline in capital adequacy since the end of 2006 and relative to peers.