Hurricanes Harvey and Irma plagued insurance stocks and insurance ETFs last month, but some are already rebounding from their September swoons.
Following news of the hurricanes hitting Texas and Florida, the PowerShares KBW Property & Casualty Insurance Portfolio (NYSEArca: KBWP) tumbled.
However, KBWP, which focuses on property & casualty insurance providers, has rebounded nicely off its September lows. The ETF was able to finish the month with a small loss and finished the third quarter flat. KBWP trades just 5% below its 52-week high.
The ETF tracks the KBW Nasdaq Property & Casualty Index, “a modified market capitalization weighted index that seeks to reflect the performance of approximately 24 property and casualty insurance companies,” according to PowerShares.
KBWB, which carries a five-star Morningstar rating, is fairly evenly spread across large-, mid- and small-cap stocks. The ETF’s top four holdings – Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR), Arch Capital (NASDAQ: ACGL), Dow component Travelers Cos. (NYSE: TRV) and Allstate Corp. (NYSE:ALL) – combine for about a third of the insurance ETF’s roster.
Insurance ETFs can also be solid plays when interest rates rise.