The Business of Insurance - How Profitable Is It?
If you think about it for a second, you will realize that while investing in specific companies might carry some risk, the industry of insurance is practically guaranteed in certain aspects.
People NEED insurance, and that's the bottom line.
If you invest in a company like Starbucks, you do so knowing that while the company fares well people do not need it to survive.
Investing in insurance allows you to get your own portion of the more than $3 trillion dollars in profits that the insurance industry makes every single year.
Of course, just like investing in any other stock or commodity, you do have to be careful in how you go about this and which companies you choose.
Financial results actually have quite a variation among health and life insurance companies, but if you do the homework you can find higher ratios and better rewards for your investment than you might get anywhere else.
Investing in insurance companies is something that you need to study carefully, including things like timing of cash flow, payor mix, diverse products offered, and the reputation and financial stability of the company in the first place.
The company needs to have the power to underwrite all the profits that you are looking for and prove to you that they are worth investing in.
you have to ask yourself whether the offered reward is worth the risk of losing all of the money that you invest before you dive into insurance investing situations.
One of the most critical elements to look at in a company is their combined ratio.
A ratio of less than 100 means that the company is earning underwriting profits while a ratio of over 100 means that the company is spending too much and not earning underwriting profits.
The level of regulation and the ability to share the risk with other investors makes insurance investing very appealing to many people.
However, fluctuating markets, cutthroat competition, and many other factors affect the insurance industry and investors who are involved, which means that you need to be extra careful in planning your investments for the best results.
If done correctly, investing in insurance companies can be a high-profit investment vehicle for anyone.