Life & Health Insurance covers life insurers, annuity and retirement providers, and supplemental health insurers. MoatScope covers 23 companies here. None has a wide moat; 15 have a narrow moat and eight none.
How the industry makes money
Life insurers collect premiums and deposits years or decades before paying claims, and earn the spread between investment returns on that money and what they promise policyholders.
Where the moats are
Switching costs and brands each appear in nine of the 15 moat-rated companies: policies run for decades and surrendering them is costly. Cost advantages from scale appear in eight.
The narrow-moat group includes MetLife, Prudential Financial, Prudential plc, Manulife, Sun Life, Aflac and Aegon. Companies without a moat include Jackson Financial, Lincoln National and Genworth.
What wears moats down
Low interest rates squeeze investment spreads, guarantees written in earlier years can prove costly, and credit losses in insurers' bond portfolios hit capital.
What to watch
- Interest rates and investment yields.
- Annuity and retirement sales.
- Capital levels and exposure to legacy guarantees.
Moat ratings and quality scores on this page update as companies report. Price versus fair value for every company in the industry is in the screener.