Exchange traded funds tracking the insurance sector fell Thursday as the East Coast braced for Hurricane Irene.
The “potentially devastating” Category 3 storm is expected to carve a path along the coast and reach the Northeast this weekend.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Thursday warned residents to be prepared to evacuate.
Shares of insurers Alltate (NYSE: ALL) and Chubb (NYSE: CB) were down 3% on Thursday.
Insurers could be facing trillions of dollars in losses as Hurricane Irene moves north towards New York, TheStreet reported Thursday. New York has over $2.3 trillion of insured coastal property, according to the report.
“The hurricane is an excuse not to be buying the property and casualty insurers,” Guy LeBas, chief fixed-income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott, told Bloomberg. “Fundamentally speaking, these names are prepared for reasonable damages.”
ETFs that invest in the insurance sector include:
- SPDR KBW Insurance (NYSEArca: KIE)
- iShares Dow Jones U.S. Insurance (NYSEArca: IAK)
- PowerShares Dynamic Insurance (NYSEArca: PIC)
SPDR KBW Insurance
Max Chen contributed to this article.