Seeking Alpha: Hartford Financial Services Largely Performing To Plan

Back in June of 2015, I thought that Hartford's (NYSE:HIG) double-digit discount to fair value and its ongoing self-improvement efforts made it a good name to consider in the insurance space. Since then, the shares are up about 6% - which isn't super, but isn't too bad next to Allstate (NYSE:ALL) or AIG (NYSE:AIG). It also hasn't been a smooth ride, as the shares have been knocked back by worries about rising loss frequency in auto insurance and feeble prospects for near-term rate increases.

With the shares up some and the company performing more or less in line with my expectations, the valuation argument doesn't seem quite as compelling. Hartford does still look like one of the more undervalued companies I pay attention to in the property & casualty space, but that undervaluation comes with lower growth prospects and near-term pricing concerns. While I think the shares still make some sense for more value-inclined investors, it's hard to work up a lot of enthusiasm.

Continue here:
Hartford Financial Services Largely Performing To Plan

Investopedia: Progressive Improving Quality At The Expense Of Growth

Every insurance company has to maintain a delicate balance between earning on capital as much as possible, and not take excessive risks in the pursuit of those earnings. As a high-quality, well-run insurance company, Progressive (NYSE:PGR) has a long history of making good decisions. Those decisions are starting to compromise growth, however, and it's becoming more difficult to make a value case for Progressive in the insurance sector.

Please read more here:
http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/041113/progressive-improving-quality-expense-growth-pgr-all.aspx

Seeking Alpha: Confusing Tower Group Offers Potential Value And Near-Certain Risk

By and large, I'm a big advocate of the KISS rule in investing (Keep It Simple, Stupid). More often than not, if an investment idea takes a lot of explanation, it's not worth the trouble. While Tower Group (TWGP) was once a relatively straightforward P&C insurance play, the company's proposed merger with Canopius makes this a much more complicated investment idea. While the reasons for the merger are sound and the potential value here is high, investors need to weigh that carefully against the risks and increasing complexity of the company.

Please continue here:
Confusing Tower Group Offers Potential Value And Near-Certain Risk

Investopedia: W.R. Berkley's Valuation Has Caught Up

Specialty insurance company W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) has long been one of my favorite under-valued insurance companies. While it is still one of my favorites in terms of management quality and addressable markets, the stock has been quite strong over the past two years and no longer represents much of a bargain. While long-term investors may wish to hang on, investors considering a new position may have to wait for a better opportunity.

Read more here:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/W.R.-Berkleys-Valuation-Has-Caught-Up-WRB-ALL-TRV-CB0606.aspx

Investopedia: Progressive Takes One Step Forward, One-Half Back

As property and casualty insurance companies go, Progressive (NYSE:PGR) is an exceptionally well-run one. Memorable advertising gets the company noticed, but it's the innovation in underwriting that has allowed the company to generally match industry pricing while realizing superior returns. Given the recent rebound in the price, though, investors may want to wait for a better entry point on these shares.

First Quarter Results 
Progressive reported that net written premiums rose almost 7% in the first quarter, showing a little more momentum later in the quarter. Direct premiums rose about 7%, while agent premiums rose about 5%. With many auto insurers boosting rates in response to above-trend losses, it looks as though Progressive is gaining some share.

Continue here:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Progressive-Takes-One-Step-Forward-One-Half-Back-PGR-TRV-ALL-BRK.A0416.aspx

Seeking Alpha: Tower Group's Earnings - See The Value, Hope For The Execution?

There's a fine line between patient and stubborn, and I fear I'm inching near the wrong side when it comes to Tower Group (TWGP). Although this small and under-followed insurance company has a great deal of potential value lurking within, management seems hard-pressed to unearth it and financial performance has been shaky.

A Mixed Bag In Q4
Given the recent disappointments, there's some relief in Tower Group's fourth quarter earnings. Although gross written premiums were flat and below most expectations, organic growth was 6% on a better than 2% increase in premiums and an 88% retention rate. Likewise, net premiums written were down 1% from last year.


Read more here:
Tower Group's Earnings: See The Value, Hope For The Execution?

Seeking Alpha: Tower Group Has Plenty To Prove

When I bought shares in Tower Group (Nasdaq: TWGP), a small specialty insurance company, I thought that the Street was basically overlooking a growing insurance company that had significant expansion potential and a record of savvy management. As it turns out, maybe the Street wasn't missing so much – delays in integrating a major acquisition and surprisingly large underwriting losses have definitely eroded some of the value in this name. Although it remains a respectable value idea, the story has shifted from waiting for the Street to discover it to waiting on management to re-establish its bona fides.

A Tougher Landscape
It may not even be relevant to think of Tower as a specialty insurance company like W.R. Berkley (NYSE: WRB) anymore. From a business base that was once centered around small business casualty policies in the Northeast, Tower has expanded more and more into property, individual lines, and new regions like Florida, Texas, and California. Accordingly, it's more like a small P&C insurer competing for business with the likes of Travelers (NYSE: TRV), Allstate (NYSE: ALL), Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK.A) GEICO, and Progressive (NYSE: PGR), but with a more focused attention on business customers.

To read more, please click the link:
Tower Group Has Plenty To Prove

Investopedia: Tempest-Tossed Berkley

Storms both real and figurative have been buffeting the insurance industry for some time now. Loose underwriting standards and a drive for market share have kept a lid on premium price increases, storms and natural disasters have been whacking the loss ratios and a low interest rate environment - combined with default worries at national and local levels - has hampered investment income. 

In times like these, W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) is a relatively safe harbor.

A Mix of News For Q2
In one very big respect, the second quarter was a bad one, but in many other ways it was a confirmation of real progress. Operating income was down about one-third from last year and that's the big negative take-away for investors.



To read the full piece, please click below:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Tempest-Tossed-Berkley-WRB-ALL-ACGL-BRK.A-PGR-XL0729.aspx

Investopedia: Berkley Looking Unloved

Insurance companies have largely missed out on a lot of the recent stock market rally. True, reinsurance companies like Arch Capital (Nasdaq:ACGL) and RenRe (NYSE:RNR) have done well as these markets have started to harden and company-specific risk and capital models have shown their quality. But in the P&C and specialty insurance markets, times have been tougher and that has kept a lid on W.R. Berkley's (NYSE:WRB) stock.

There is nothing in the numbers from Berkley's first quarter to promise an immediate turnaround, but patient investors should give this name a long look. This is not Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A), but insurance companies that consistently earn better than their cost of capital are valuable wealth-building enterprises, and Berkley has a very good track record on that score. (For more, see Intro To Insurance: Property And Casulty Insurance.)


First Quarter Results a Mixed Bag
Top line results should offer some encouragement. Net premiums grew about 10% this quarter, and the company reported that pricing improved by about 1%, while renewal retention rose to about 80%. There was a fair bit of turbulence on the individual unit level, but four of the five units showed net premium growth. The alternative markets unit was the lone decliner (down almost 5%), while specialty grew almost 19% and international jumped almost 38%.

To read the full piece, please follow the link:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Berkley-Looking-Unloved-WRB-ACGL-RNR-BRK-A-ALL-TRV-XL0427.aspx

Marsh & McLennan - It Should Get Better From Here

There is a lot of money at stake when you try to figure out whether a company is just in a temporary rut or on a greased slide down the mountainside. Now I really do not think that any serious investors believe that insurance broker and risk consultant Marsh & McLennan (NYSE:MMC) is in any danger of sliding into irrelevance, but the stock price today does not seem to build in much of a recovery in the future. 

The Quarter That Was
MMC's results reflect a simple, ugly reality - the commercial non-life insurance business is pretty lousy right now. Whether you look at Travelers (NYSE:TRV), Arch Capital (Nasdaq:ACGL), Allstate (NYSE:ALL) or pretty much any other player in property/casualty and reinsurance, you see the same theme - weak premiums due to a combination of low demand and ready supply. (For a quick refresher, check out Intro To Property And Casualty Insurance.)
 
For the complete piece:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Marsh--McLennan---It-Should-Get-Better-From-Here-MMC-TRV-ACGL-ALL-WSH.-BRO-AJG0806.aspx