Why must you invest in insurance companies' stock?
Dear investors
They are Gems of Indian stock market.
What should an
investor look at while picking the best insurance stocks to buy?
There are not many listed players in the
insurance space and in challenging times it is better to stick to the leaders
which have the highest solvency ratios, strong Banca partners, a wide
distribution network, and a diverse product mix.
Annual Premium Equivalent or Gross Written
Premiums
Profit and Loss statement of an insurance company is extremely
different than any other industry. Here the revenue is in the form of APE or
GNP. Annual premium equivalent (APE) which forms the topline in life insurance
players is a key parameter to observe. In simple terms, APE forms the premiums
received by the companies from its various products. It usually measures the
volume of new business premiums written in the course of the year. An investor
should look for consistent improvement in APE growth. NBP is the term used for
new business premium which should continuously grow for a life insurance
player. While life insurance companies call it APE, general insurance companies
call their topline Gross written premiums (GWP).
New Business Margin
New Business Margin (NBM) is used to measure the profitability of the
insurance business. A higher percentage which is rising YoY or QoQ is
preferable. Similarly, PAT or Profit after Tax should also show continuous
improvement.
Value of New
Business Margins
Value of New Business Margins (VNB) is the present value of future
profits that is associated with new businesses. This parameter helps to gauge
if the operational efficiency and scale are enabling the value of the business
to improve.
Embedded Value
Embedded value (EV) on the other hand is a valuation measure to
estimate the consolidated value of shareholders’ interest in the insurance
company. P/E v and P/VNB are used as valuation multiples and India’s current
average is 3.5 P/EV and 42.9 P/VNB. An investor should check for higher VNB
margins as they translate to higher EV in the longer term.
(insurance stocks should be always in your portfolio )
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