Hi there,
Most insurance companies have taken a pretty significant hit during this market crash. This is due in large part because of how much they struggled during the financial crisis. Insurers were not prepared, not well capitalized and as such, were got off guard.
The good news is that they have since learned from their mistakes. Companies like MFC and IAG are much better prepared this time around. This means that their dividends are better covered and they should be able to right out the storm fairly well. The longer COVID-19 persists however, the harder it will be.
We are of the mindset that we have not seen the end of the bear market. April was off to a great start, but the past few days volatility has returned, and we are but one bad news away from another market meltdown. At these prices, companies are cheap but we recommend averaging into positions until the markets stability and COVID-19 measures are fully mitigated.
Full disclosure, I am long MFC. At a price to book of 0.7 and a forward P/E of 6.2, it looks to be among the cheapest in the industry. Not the mention a yield of 6.72% is also near industry highs. We also have it on our Dividend Bull List.
Mat