loan process and instituted a voluntary mortgage foreclosure moratorium. Despite these programs, the Commerce Department shuttered over 25 financially unstable Minnesota banks between 1984 and 1989. Commercial insurance The 1980s financial crisis also affected insurance companies, with commercial insurers doubling and tripling rates to make up for "cash flow" underwriting in the late 1970s. In cash flow underwriting, an insurer undercuts premiums, expecting to make substantial profit on an anticipated investment return of 15% to 20%. The problem was that when the rate of return lowered from 20% in 1980 to 8% in 1984, the loss in anticipated investment profit could not sustain the outflow of cash necessary to pay insurance claims. The losses sustained by cash flow underwriting were particularly hard on commercial insurers that expected to earn a high profit for many years until claims came due. This created problems for policyholders in securing coverage, because few insurers specialized in certain fields of commerce. In 1984, Minnesota had only one liquor liability insurer, two medical malpractice insurers, and few insurers that concentrated coverage in specific areas, such as foster parents or psychologists. Hatch responded to the doubling and tripling of rates on two fronts. First, he established a Joint Underwriting Association (JUA), which could issue policies to keep an industry operational if there was a shortage of insurers in a particular field, since some industries could not operate without insurance coverage. Second, he undertook several studies of whether the increased premiums had anything to do with increased claims. The St. Paul Companies, based in St. Paul and the primary issuer of medical malpractice policies, argued that Hatch's studies were flawed. The dispute between Hatch and the insurer ended up on ABC Nightline on February 14, 1989. The televised debate resulted in insurance hearings around the country, with St. Paul Companies dropping its premiums for medical malpractice insurance by 25% on April 15, 1989. Drought insurance In 1988, rural Minnesota experienced a fierce drought. At the time, Chubb Insurance was selling "rain insurance", which paid a farmer if the rain gauge nearest their farm had accumulated less than a certain amount of rain between June1 and August 31. Chubb's agents were selling the coverage as late as July 15 that summer, halfway through the drought. Farmers stood in line outside insurance agencies to buy the coverage in July. When farmers filed claims for their losses due to the drought,