MetLife Inc

Allianz Group offer property casualty insurance, life and health insurance, and asset management products and services in over 70 countries. The company’s major operations are in Europe.

A company managing higher risk products must maintain a higher level of minimum capital compared to a company with a relatively lower level of risk.

The impact of interest rate movements is lower in the P&C segment, as their products can be repriced annually to keep in line with interest rate movements.

For P&C insurers such as AIG and ACE, various mandatory requirements may drive sales of vehicle, workers’ compensation, and homeowners insurance.

Insurance premiums have grown at a modest pace after a dip in 2009 due to the financial crisis, which the industry was able to navigate.

P&C products have commoditized characteristics, resulting in sharp competition in the market and business cycles. AIG and ACE are key players in this space.

Financial market movements not only impact income from invested assets, but also the value of assets carried at fair value on an insurer’s balance sheet.

Wall Street analysts recommended a one-year price target of $116.07 per share on Prudential Financial (PRU), reflecting an increase of ~14.1% from the current price.

In 2Q17, on the basis of annualized new business premiums, sales in Prudential’s Individual Life business stood at $153 million, reflecting a marginal decline of ~3.8% year-over-year.

AIG’s pretax operating income for personal insurance stood at $330 million in 2Q17. In 2Q16, it stood at $152 million.

AIG is expected to post earnings per share of $1.22 in 3Q17, an ~20.3% decline from its 2Q17 earnings. AIG is expected to report revenues of ~$11.8 billion in 3Q17.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) is expected to post EPS (earnings per share) of $2,829 per share in 4Q16 and $2,880 in 1Q17.

Berkshire Hathaway reported its third quarter earnings on November 5, 2016. The company missed analysts’ operating earnings per share estimates of $3,022 with reported EPS of $2,951.

Interest rates are a key performance driver for life insurance companies, affecting their margins, hedging costs, and product sales.

Term life insurance provides guaranteed benefits to beneficiaries for a specific period of time in case of the sudden death of the insured person.

Life insurance (PRU) (MET) policies come in various forms that cater to people in different age groups and with different financial goals.

Banking stocks are expected to benefit from higher interest rates, but not immediately. Also, rising interest rates would be countered by higher existing liquidity.

Berkshire Hathaway has doubled its earnings and balance sheet potential since the financial crisis of 2007.

Prudential has comfortable solvency positions in its subsidiaries. In the US, Prudential Insurance’s solvency ratio was well above the target ratio of 400%.

MetLife plans to grow its retail and group business in Latin America, capitalizing on the growing middle class, affluent class, and corporate needs.

MetLife is the market leader in the Large market with ~30% of the market share, while its market share is slightly above 5% in the Middle market.

MetLife intends to grow its retail business and expects low single-digit growth in the long term.

MetLife is a market leader in the US and the largest life insurer in Mexico and Chile. It is among the leading players in Japan, Korea, and Poland.