Ads which feature the Aflac duck conjure up one sort of image of that insurance firm.
But recent financial news conjures up another:
"Aflac...will take an enormous second-quarter loss of $610 million related to souring European investments...For the year, Aflac has written off nearly $1 billion in troubled European investments....
"On March 31, Aflac reported it had approximately $3.55 billion in exposure to European bank and sovereign debt investments."
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (6/24)
The story also says Aflac plans to reduce its exposure to European financial institutions.
This is notable news, yet the bigger story is how the financial waters got so hot in the first place.
To single out one particular insurance company is to miss the point (Aflac just happened to be in the headlines). In today's uncertain economy, the insurance industry itself may be financially vulnerable.
The question is: If a large U.S. insurance company suffered major losses due to Europe's financial problems, what will happen to the entire insurance industry if another "economic earthquake" occurs in the United States itself?
Sounding an undue alarm?
Not according to Robert Prechter's economic analysis. He wrote this in the July Elliott Wave Theorist:
"Insurance Companies Will Soon Be Pressed to the Wall."
In the May Theorist, he said:
"...use only the safest banks and insurance companies in the world...you can get updated information about how to achieve these goals in the second edition of Conquer the Crash."
And speaking of Conquer the Crash (2nd ed.), Robert Prechter relates a personal insurance story from years ago (p.220):
"When insurance companies implode, they file for bankruptcy, and you can be left out in the cold. I know, because my insurance broker placed our insurance with, of all the companies in the world, Confederation Life. In 1994, it collapsed, along
with Baldwin United and First Executive Corporation, which were huge institutions. See what happened when I didn’t do the necessary research?"
Today's economic environment is even less certain. It would be wise to start
your research on insurance companies by reading
Conquer the Crash (2nd ed.). In the wealth of useful information, you'll find a revealing table titled,
"The Safest U.S. Insurers."
Get a
free copy of the book as part of your
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