My All-Time Favorite Stocks To Own Are On Sale Right Now...
[View Online](=)|[Unsubscribe](
[Street Authority Daily]
-[]Recommended Link
[Retirement Woes Are About To Vanish](
"Will I have enough money in my retirement years?" That's the question on the minds of so many folks these days. But you can set those worries aside. Because master trader Jim Fink is releasing step-by-step instructions on how to collect a $1,692.50 check this Thursday... and every Thursday after that. [Find out how you can start receiving them here.](
August 5, 2020
My All-Time Favorite Stocks To Own Are On Sale Right Now...
By Jimmy Butts
[Jimmy Butts]
Most people would agree that 2020 is a mess... we have a health pandemic killing people -- around 150,000 people in the United States so far. We also have riots and protests that have escalated into destroying and burning buildings and vehicles.
The deaths and damage have caused most investors to shun the insurance industry. After all, insurance companies are forking over claims left and right in the wake of the damage, deaths, concert and event cancellations, along with anything and everything else that can be insured and is being affected by this pandemic.
Longtime readers know that I'm a huge fan of insurance companies, specifically property and casualty (P&C) insurers. I talked about the insurance industry in my February 2017 issue -- and how a guy named Shelby Davis took $50,000 and turned it into $900 million over his investment career by investing mainly in a handful of insurance stocks.
-[]Recommended Link
[Life-and-death investing...](
We call them "essential-service" stocks.... because people don't just want what they sell, they need it. Nobody is going to go without air conditioning in Arizona. It can be a matter of life and death. And try spending a winter in North Dakota with no heat. Forget it. So, the companies that make these places livable are critical. And they can make you a fortune. We know, because we've got [a bunch of these stocks that are up 565% each.](
And just about everyone knows that insurance companies form the foundation of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A) portfolio.
But what you may not know is that when these fantastic businesses go on sale, it's usually a good idea to scoop them up. If you do, then you should comfortably see your wealth grow year after year.
And that's exactly what is setting up right now...
Insurance Is Out Of Favor
While the major indexes and most sectors have recovered nicely from the initial coronavirus fallout in March, the insurance industry is still more than 20% off its February highs.
There's a lot of uncertainty surrounding the industry as investors try to figure out how much pain will be inflicted on these companies as they dish out claims for lost lives and damaged property.
It makes sense, too. Insurance companies are betting that these sorts of events won't happen, and nobody could have guessed that a virus would suddenly wreak havoc on our lives and the economy. The insurance companies have clearly lost the bet, and now they're paying up.
The Case For Insurance Stocks
When you go to a cocktail party, I'm sure insurance stocks aren't the "hot" topic that everyone is talking about. It's not a "sexy" investment. It's a stodgy industry with no new game-changing innovations.
Second, nobody likes receiving their insurance bill or shopping for insurance. Moreover, insurance and insurance companies typically have a bad stigma, which is understandable since whenever you have to deal with them it's because something bad has happened. To top it off, insurance companies are hard to understand.
For better or worse, insurance has become a regular cost of living. Like rent or electricity. You have to have it. So you pay the bill. And to top it off, because an insurance company needs to turn a profit, you essentially need to have wasted your money.
When it comes to talking about insurance, it's understood that nobody likes it. And if you don't like it, chances are it's not at the top of your investment wish-list.
But I'm here to tell you that insurance is exactly where you should be invested. If the world's greatest investors have built their fortunes on the backs of insurance companies, then it should be a staple for every portfolio.
In Warren Buffett's [2011 Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letter](, he provides a quick snapshot of why he loves the insurance business model:
Insurers receive premiums upfront and pay claims later. In extreme cases, such as those arising from certain workers' compensation accidents, payments can stretch over decades. This collect-now, pay-later model leaves us holding large sums - money we call "float" - that will eventually go to others. Meanwhile, we get to invest this float for Berkshire's benefit... If our premiums exceed the total of our expenses and eventual losses, we register an underwriting profit that adds to the investment income our float produces. When such a profit occurs, we enjoy the use of free money - and, better yet, get paid for holding it.
In short, while most companies have to pay for capital, insurance companies receive free capital that they can then invest and keep all investment profits.
Why Now Is A Great Time To Buy Insurance Companies
On the surface, it's easy to see why insurance companies aren't in favor right now. But history shows that the best time to invest in these companies is in the midst of disaster...
Sure, some poorly run insurers will go out of business. But the elimination of competition is great for the companies that do survive, as now they can charge higher rates in the period that follows the disaster. Plus, customers -- with the tragedy fresh in their minds -- are willing to fork over extra money for the peace of mind that comes with knowing their risks are insured. We will likely see a surge in "pandemic business insurance" or a bump in business interruption insurance.
This isn't the first pandemic or catastrophe that insurance companies have faced. And it won't be the last. But each time, shares of insurance companies dip, and then the good ones go on to gobble up more market share and produce outsized returns.
We've seen this play out over and over and over again throughout the years.
I'll spare you the history lesson for now. But everything from fires (like the Great Chicago Fire in 1871) to earthquakes (San Francisco, 1907) to outbreaks (the Spanish Flu) to terrorist attacks (9/11) and Hurricanes (Katrina, Harvey, Sandy, etc.) produced eye-popping numbers in terms of damages.
The point is, insurance companies have faced many catastrophes over the years. The good ones not only survived but even thrived afterward, outperforming the broader market.
How To Find A Good Insurance Stock
To fully grasp why I believe P&C underwriters are some of the world's best businesses, there's a couple of things we need to cover...
One of the keys to a good insurance company is its ability to generate an underwriting profit. These are the companies that aren't afraid to turn business away if the risks outweigh the potential profit. Some insurance companies will insure anything just to keep premiums coming in the door. We don't want to invest in those.
Fortunately, there's an easy metric that we can look at that tells us if a company is operating at a profit or loss, and that's the firm's "combined ratio." The combined ratio measures insurance profitability. It is calculated as expenses and claim losses divided by premium collected. A combined ratio below 100 shows that a company is generating an underwriting profit. Above 100 means it's operating at a loss.
Next, like many financial institutions, a key metric for insurance companies is the firm's book value. This is the amount the company is worth if it was liquidated. The book value is often compared to the stock's current market price or P/BV.
Every industry and company will have a wide variety of P/BV levels. Some companies consistently trade a premium to their book value, while others consistently trade at a discount to their book value. So, typically it's best to compare a company's P/BV to its historical range to gain some perspective.
Action To Take
Of course, you can't just go buy any insurance company. You have to find the best. I'm talking about the ones that consistently generate underwriting profits, grow float, and book value growth.
That's exactly what we have with my latest pick over at [Top Stock Advisor](.
Unfortunately, I can't reveal the name of that pick with you today. But using the simple metrics I described above, you should have no trouble in finding a solid P&C insurer that's on sale right now. If you do the homework and find one now, you'll thank me later.
There's another stock I found right now that's going unnoticed by the market. And it could make investors a lot of money in the coming months...
I regularly read through SEC filings, and I recently found something in a tiny footnote of one report that leaped off the page. What I can tell you is that it has to do with a little-known satellite technology company that may have scored the deal of the decade.
[I've got all the details in my latest report right here.](
-[]Recommended Link
[Former Goldman Lawyer ](
[Former Goldman Lawyer "Cracks The Code" On Option Trading](
Over a 4-year period, he won 84.68% of his trades. Thousands of people have followed his recommendations to create their own fortunes and now you can too. [Click here to learn more..](
To ensure that you receive these emails, [please add us to your address book.](
Disclosure: StreetAuthority doesn't own shares of any securities mentioned in this article. Members of our staff are restricted from buying or selling any securities for three days after being featured in our advisories or on our website.
StreetAuthority is a publisher of financial news and opinions. StreetAuthority is not a securities broker/dealer or an investment advisor and we do not recommend or endorse any brokers, dealers or investment advisors. This work is based on SEC filings, current events, interviews, corporate press releases and publicly available information which may contain errors. All information contained in our newsletters and/or on our website(s) should be independently verified with the companies or sources mentioned. You are responsible for your own investment decisions and should always conduct your own research and due diligence and consider obtaining professional advice before making any investment decision.
This message was sent by an automated message delivery platform. Please do not reply to this email address. Any messages sent to this address will be automatically deleted. We sincerely hope that you benefit from your subscription to this complimentary newsletter, and we're willing to do whatever it takes to keep you as a satisfied subscriber. You may contact our customer service department by [visiting this link](.
To update your subscription or unsubscribe, please [click here](.
Copyright (c) 2020 StreetAuthority, 7600A Leesburg Pike, Suite 300 Falls Church, VA 22043. All rights reserved. Any reproduction, copying, or redistribution, in whole or in part, is prohibited.
[Terms]( | [Privacy]( | [Unsubscribe](