Stock Strategist: Coronavirus Poses Risk for P&C Insurers but Also Opportunity

[Morningstar Logo]( [Company Site]( [Company News]( [Membership]( [Portfolio]( [Stocks]( [Options]( [Funds]( [ETFs]( [Markets]( [Tools]( [Personal Finance]( [Discuss]( Stock Strategist Coronavirus Poses Risk for P&C Insurers but Also Opportunity Losses look manageable, and this could be a good time to buy. [tab_bar] by Brett Horn, CFA | 6/3/2020 2:30:00 PM While significant uncertainty surrounds the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the insurance industry, several participants have said that they believe it will be the largest loss event in the industry’s history. Claims losses from COVID-19 are likely to be diffused across a number of insurance lines, but the hits will primarily center on commercial lines. We believe personal lines won’t see major negative impacts, and personal auto will in fact see a material reduction in claims. On the basis of Willis Towers Watson’s analysis, it doesn’t look as if COVID-19 claims losses will exceed past events as a percentage of industry capital except in a worst-case scenario. We believe the industry can absorb this event. Still, we don’t dismiss the risk; in a worst-case scenario, claims losses, combined with investment impairments, could stress balance sheets. Further, while we view wide-scale payouts on business interruption claims as a low-probability event, a negative outcome would pose an existential risk for insurers. To read more, click [here](. Sponsored Links [Buy a Link Now]( Podcast: Investing Insights From Morningstar.com Listen to a roundup of the latest videos featured on Morningstar.com [in this podcast]( available through iTunes. Free Issue | Morningstar's Stock Newsletter >> Morningstar StockInvestor is celebrating more than 10 successful years of high-quality stock investing. Its two real-money portfolios have outperformed the S&P 500 since 2001. [Get new ideas for the core of your stock portfolio](. Search Most Recent Articles [Human Rights on the Ballot at Google]( [What Is Proxy Voting and Why You Should Care]( [Tanja Hester: The Pandemic Will Stoke Interest in Early Retirement]( Latest Analyst Reports [Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico]( [Allscripts Healthcare Solutions]( [ICU Medical]( [S&P Global]( [Navistar International]( ABOUT OUR EMAIL TO UNSUBSCRIBE this email address to the Stock Strategist newsletter, please click "reply" and then click "send." This will unsubscribe only this email address to this specific newsletter. All subscription changes will take effect within one business day. Replies are not read by individuals, so please do not use this for queries about Morningstar.com. If you have questions about Morningstar.com or your membership, send a note to [joe@morningstar.com](mailto:%20joe@morningstar.com). ABOUT OUR PRIVACY POLICY Please [click here]( to learn about Morningstar's privacy policy. (c) Copyright 2020. Morningstar, Inc. 22 West Washington Chicago, Illinois, 60602 All rights reserved.