MetLife, Inc. (METL.VI)

Extreme weather risks and insurance stocks: Investment guide

2023 was a year of extreme weather with 22 billion-dollar disasters occurring in the calendar year, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). With extreme weather instances on the rise, how are insurance companies coping with potential fallout from these events? CFRA Research Vice President Cathy Seifert joins Market Domination to give insight into the impact these extreme weather phenomena are having on insurance companies and what investors need to keep in mind when adding these names to their portfolios. Seifert outlines the current landscape for insurers in the sector: "The insurance industry really has not seen this kind of pricing power in decades. And I would argue that this pricing power that the industry currently has is likely to be a secular trend, not a cyclical trend. This is good for insurance investors. I think you have to choose carefully depending upon a particular company's strategy, how well they've historically underwritten and things like that."  She references insurers with "pricing power, but either have a diversified book of business so that they don't have outsized exposure to one particular line of coverage, or one particular area to, and also have lines of coverage that is not necessarily as exposed to severe weather." This includes primary insurer and reinsurer Arch Capital (ACGL). For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino