Updates on Our Top Insurance Stocks

Article Excerpt

Insurance has a stable image, but it has always been highly competitive and volatile. That’s why we’ve said for some time that insurers are riskier than they look. For safety-conscious investors, right now we recommend just three Canadian insurance companies as buys: Manulife Financial, Great-West Lifeco and Sun Life Financial. SUN LIFE FINANCIAL $50.16 (Toronto symbol SLF; SI Rating: Above-average) offers savings, retirement, pension and life and health insurance products and services to individuals and corporations. The company operates mainly in Canada, the U.S. and the UK, and also in Asia, China and India. It has assets under administration of $435 billion. In the three months ended June 30, 2007, Sun Life’s earnings rose 15.2%, to $590 million or $1.03 a share, from $512 million or $0.88 a year earlier. Revenue fell 27.8%, to $4.5 billion from $6.2 billion, due to new accounting rules for investments. Sun Life has raised its quarterly dividend by 6.3%, to $0.34 from $0.32. The shares now yield…