Insurance companies are a pretty vital part of the financial industry. In 2018, the UK insurance industry paid out £267,534 million. While it might not be as attractive as banking, there’s money in it. Insurance companies work to protect you financially from a series of different outcomes — house insurance covers you if your house burns down, car insurance covers you in a car crash and life insurance supports your loved ones financially if you were to die or become critically ill.
UK insurance companies are likely to be the ones that you have existing policies with, so it’s likely that you’ll be familiar with them, their mascots and what they do. Insurers used to be mutuals, which means they were owned by the policyholders, but a lot are “demutualising”, which means they’re becoming public companies that you can buy shares in.
Below are some of the insurance companies worldwide that you’re able to invest in with some information about their stock prices and what they do. We’ve also got an A-Z list further down if there are any specific insurance companies that you want to invest in.
Atlantic American is an insurance company in the US. It has several subsidiaries to cover off different insurance markets, including life insurance, health insurance, property insurance and casualty insurance. Its shares are listed on the NASDAQ.
Prudential Financial is a US financial services company that offers insurance, as well as pensions and investment services. It’s a Fortune 500 and Fortune Global 500 company and has assets under management (AUM) of $1.456 trillion (around £1.06 trillion)
Buy Prudential Financial shares
RSA is a UK based insurance company that’s listed on the London Stock Exchange. It owns More Than, which is a car, home, pet and travel insurance company. RSA has just been bought by Tryg, so it’s currently in the process of delisting from the London Stock Exchange.
Buy RSA Insurance Group shares
Insurance companies are a significant part of the financial industry, and they make good profits. These stocks tend to perform quite well — partly because they must have a reserve of liquid assets available for if they need to pay out and partly because of company reputation. There are risks involved with investing in insurance stocks, as with all stocks and shares.
The insurance sector took a bit of a hit during the coronavirus pandemic. In early 2020, hopeful holidaymakers in the UK received news that their summer holidays would not be going ahead as we entered lockdown. This put a lot of pressure on the insurance industry at the same time as the coronavirus stock market crash.
In January 2021, several UK insurance companies were impacted by a ruling by the Supreme Court in favour of their customers who challenged their decisions to exclude coronavirus-related disruptions from business interruption policies.
Before you invest in the insurance industry, it’s worth researching the ways that your chosen insurance companies operate — this differs between insurance types.
All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
59% of people we surveyed said they already invest in insurance stocks or would consider investing in insurance stocks.
| Response | |
|---|---|
| I would consider it | 49.82% |
| Not sure | 21.4% |
| I wouldn't consider it | 19.93% |
| I already invest in this | 8.86% |
Insurance companies can be a good investment opportunity, as long as you know how they work. You should ensure that you know the risks involved. There are plenty of UK based insurance companies available to invest in if you want stocks on the London Stock Exchange, but there are also plenty of stocks on US stock exchanges.
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