The insurance industry saw some strong earnings reports as some of the prominent players surpassed estimates either for earnings or revenues, or both. This led to a rally in insurance ETFs. SPDR S&P Insurance ETF KIE, iShares U.S. Insurance ETF IAK and Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF KBWP are up 5.3%, 4.2% and 7.5%, respectively, over the past month.

Insurance Earnings in Focus

The second-largest U.S. life insurer Prudential Financial PRU reported better-than-expected results. Earnings per share of $3.48 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny but decreased 3.8% from the year-ago earnings. Revenues surged 94% year over year to $19.48 billion and edged past the consensus mark of $14.57 billion. 

Chubb Corp. CB, one of the leading property and casualty insurers, surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share by 79 cents but lagged the revenue estimate by $239 million. Another property and casualty insurer. Allstate ALL posted earnings per share of $3.91, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.20. The bottom line increased nearly five-fold year over year. Revenues grew 12.3% year over year to $16.38 billion, well above the consensus mark of $16.24 billion.

Earnings per share of $2.16 reported by Aflac AFL, a seller of supplemental health insurance, trumped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 46 cents and improved 17.4% from the year-ago earnings. Revenues declined 42% year over year to $2.95 billion and lagged the consensus mark of $4.65 billion (see: all the Financial ETFs here). 

Personal property and casualty insurer Travelers TRV posted earnings per share of $5.24, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by $1.45 and doubled from the year-ago earnings. Revenues grew 10.7% year over year to $11.8 billion and edged past the consensus mark of $11.69 billion.

The U.S. life insurance behemoth MetLife MET disappointed in its third-quarter 2024 results.  MetLife reported earnings of $1.93 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 23 cents and declined 1% from the year-ago quarter. Revenues declined 3.4% year over year to $17.6 billion and missed the consensus estimate of $18.47 billion.

Insurance ETFs in Focus

SPDR S&P Insurance ETF (KIE)

SPDR S&P Insurance ETF follows the S&P Insurance Select Industry Index, holding well-diversified 51 stocks in its basket. About 50% of the portfolio is allocated to property and casualty insurance, while life & health insurance and insurance brokers round off the next two spots with double-digit exposure. SPDR S&P Insurance ETF has managed $996.7 million in its asset base and charges 35 bps in annual fees. It has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy) with a Medium risk outlook.

iShares U.S. Insurance ETF (IAK)

With AUM of $748.9 million, iShares U.S. Insurance ETF offers exposure to U.S. companies that provide life, property and casualty, and full-line insurance. It tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Select Insurance Index and holds 52 securities in its basket with a double-digit concentration on the top two firms. Property & casualty insurance accounts for the largest share at 71.8%, while life & health insurance rounds off the next spot with double-digit exposure. iShares U.S. Insurance ETF charges 39 bps in annual fees and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 with a Medium risk outlook (read: 5 Top-Ranked ETFs Beating the S&P 500 in 2024).

Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF (KBWP) 

Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF provides exposure to 25 companies primarily engaged in U.S. property and casualty insurance activities. It follows the KBW Nasdaq Property & Casualty Index and is concentrated on the top five firms that make up about 8% share each. Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF has managed $448.7 million in its asset base and has an expense ratio of 0.35%. KBWP has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 with a Medium risk outlook.