Small impact on Great-West

Article Excerpt

GREAT-WEST LIFECO $27.02 (Toronto symbol GWO; Shares outstanding: 949 million; Market cap: $25.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.6 %; www.greatwestlifeco.com) gets most of its revenue from selling life insurance and wealth-management services to individuals. It also sells catastrophe insurance to other property and casualty insurance companies. The company estimates that claims stemming from the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan will cut its earnings by $75 million in the three months ended March 31, 2011. The claims mostly relate to property catastrophe coverage sold by London Reinsurance Group, a subsidiary of Great West. However, this one-time charge is small next to the $1.9 billion, or $1.96 a share, that Great-West earned in 2010. Great-West Lifeco is a buy. buy…