Entire insurance sector takes a hammering

Insurance stocks have taken a beating lately. One problem is the complexity of their finances, leaving questions over the health of their balance sheets.

"It's all in a day's shorting," said Lex in the FT. A UK life assurer releases grim results and hedge funds manage to hammer down not just that stock, but the entire sector. At times like this, a business so geared to the vagaries of the markets is "easy fodder", as the falling value of the assets they hold can produce some hair-raising losses. For example, Aviva reported a £1.95bn profit last year, said Michael Prest on Breakingviews. But taking into account falling investment values, that slumps to a loss of £7.71bn.

Abad time for insurers to be opaque

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