From the investors’ point of view, it’s very hard to know whether this is a good or bad time to invest in insurance companies, in the same way as it’s hard to know whether to invest in insurance products. There are multiple unfathomable product lines and then there is the weird existence of huge reinsurance companies. What’s that about? We are never really sure how much an insurance company has given up in its profits to reinsurers for the sake of its own stability.
Actually, not so fast. One of the things disasters do is to make people aware of why insurance is so important and, as it happens, useful. First, refer to the obscurity of insurance investing above. Second, the deal is so complex and involves so many countries that the parties have given themselves “12 to 15 months” just to see it through. And that is extendable. So, you know, don’t hold your breath.