Investopedia: High-Quality RenRe Not A Striking Bargain

Investors are fairly spoiled for choice when it comes to the insurance sector, so not only can they afford to be picky, but they pretty much have to be. With the sector having been relatively strong of late, despite weak investment returns, a lot of the great bargains in the space have disappeared. RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) is a difficult case in point; while this company remains a top-flight reinsurance company and is not exactly overpriced, it's not that much of a bargain either.

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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/High-Quality-RenRe-Not-A-Striking-Bargain-RNR-ACGL-PRE-RE0613.aspx

Investopedia: ACE And Arch Capital - Can Investors Look To These A-List Insurers?

Hardly anyone seems to have noticed, but 2012 has been a pretty good year for some of the large corporate insurers. True, there have been natural disasters this year and the rate environment isn't great, but many of the top players like ACE (NYSE:ACE), Arch Capital Group (Nasdaq:ACGL) and Renaissance RE (NYSE:RNR) have seen their stocks solidly beat the market this year. Of course, it's not all perfect in P&C and reinsurance - companies like XL Group (NYSE: XL) and PartnerRe (NYSE:PRE) have seen their stocks sell off this year. (For additional reading, see When Things Go Awry, Insurers Get Reinsured.)

The question for investors, though, is whether the recovery in 2011 has taken away the value in top-notch names like ACE and Arch Capital.


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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/ACE-And-Arch-Capital---Can-Investors-Look-To-These-A-List-Insurers--ACGL-ACE-RNR-XL-PRE-WSH-AON1229.aspx

Investopedia: The Japanese Earthquake's Effects On Insurers

Although it is still far too early to fully assess the scale and impact of the severe earthquake that struck northeastern Japan, and all of us at Investopedia wish our friends and readers in Japan the best, the fact remains that markets have to digest this information and move forward. To that end, it seems quite likely that major reinsurance companies are going to face large claims in the wake of this disaster. 

The Scale of the Disaster 

As of this writing, which is only hours after the quake struck, it is all but impossible to get a firm sense of the damage in the Tohoku region of Japan. While the reported magnitude of this quake is considerably higher than that of Great Hanshin quake that struck Kobe in 1995, it does not automatically follow that this quake will surpass the fatality (over 6,000 dead) or economic damage (roughly $100 billion) of that prior disaster. Let us all hope it does not.

Nevertheless, there are many major manufacturing facilities in this region owned by companies like Sony (NYSE:SNE), Toyota (NYSE:TM),and Nissan (Nasdaq:NSANY) to name a few. What's more, given the reports of infrastructure damage that have already come in (roads, bridges, and the like), it seems probable that there has been significant economic damage.

Please read the full piece at Investopedia:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/The-Japanese-Earthquakes-Effects-On-Insurers-BRK.A-RNR-SWCEY-ACGL-ACE-XL-RE0311.aspx