September 22, 2004 at 08:00 PM
NU Online News Service, Sept. 22, 2004, 5:27 p.m. EDT
Firming investment markets helped U.S. life and health insurers treble their profits during the first quarter.[@@]
Life and health insurers reported a total of $8.7 billion in profits for the quarter, up from $2.8 billion in total profits for the first quarter of 2003, according to Weiss Ratings Inc., Jupiter, Fla.
Profits were up partly because capital gains increased $3.1 billion and investment income increased $1.5 billion, Weiss researchers report.
Weiss also looked at industry separate accounts and junk bond holdings.
The stock market rebound contributed to a 29% increase in separate account holdings, to $277 billion, and shifts in investment strategies and improving business credit quality cut the value of life and health insurers’ junk bond holdings 6%, to $138 billion. Junk bonds accounted for 5.23% of invested assets at the end of the quarter, down from 6.04% a year earlier, Weiss says.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2023 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Copyright © 2023 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
