Two major life insurers were battered by a swirl of rumors in September as several message boards on a popular Web site began predicting their demise.

An Internet user views a popular Web site that houses a myriad of online message boards.

The Web site, Ni-channeru (Channel 2), is known as a hotbed of gossip on almost every subject under the sun. One category is dedicated to the insurance industry, where anonymous Web surfers can freely set up message boards with titles of their choosing.