“Let’s hope the forecasters are wrong,” Ceres Coalition spokesman Peyton Fleming said in a MSN Money article, “but Hurricane Sandy is sounding very similar to Hurricane Irene a year ago, which hit parts of the country for long durations that were quite unusual.”
Ceres Coalition has stated that the accelerating trend for extreme weather is continuing, which “could undermine some insurers’ ability to manage and, in some cases even survive, future catastrophic, weather-related loss events” and “extreme weather is already causing more businesses and properties to be uninsurable in the private insurance markets, leaving the higher risks and costs to governments, taxpayers and individuals.”
The bleak outlook is pressuring shares of property insurers and financial sectors. Hartford Financial Services (NYSE: HIG) dropped the most among major property insurers, and other companies like Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL), Chubb Corp. (NYSE: CB), Travelers Co. (NYSE: TRV) and American International Group (NYSE: AIG) were also weaker Friday.
Insurance-related ETFs to watch out for include:
- SPDR KBW Insurance ETF (NYSEArca: KIE): HIG is 2.5%, TRV is 2.4%, CB is 2.4%.
- iShares Dow Jones US Insurance Index Fund(NYSEArca: IAK): AIG is 8.9%, TRV is 6.5%, CB is 5.1%, ALL is 4.8%.
- PowerShares Dynamic Insurance Portfolio (NYSEArca: PIC): ALL is 5.0%, CB is 5.0%, AIG is 4.7%.
- PowerShares KBW Property & Casualty Insurance Portfolio (NYSEArca: KBWP): TRV is 9.9%, ALL is 7.8%, CB is 7.8%.
- PowerShares KBW Insurance Portfolio (NYSEArca: KBWI): CB is 8.0%, TRV is 8.0%, ALL is 4.7%.
For more information on insurance funds, visit our insurance category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.