With Angelique Ruzicka
There was little evidence of gloom in the financial services sector this week. Pru’s shares dipped just 4.8%; Lloyds TSB 2.78% and Catlin Group a meagre 0.07%.
Amlin was the biggest winner in insurance with its shares rising 8.58% to 373.25p. Hiscox, Hardy Underwriting and Novae also had a good week with their shares rising 8.54%, 6.03% and 7.54% respectively.
Is this good news a temporary blip?. A report by trading house ODL Securities this week questioned whether the fall-out from AIG’s collapse had peaked. It pointed out that insurers such as Prudential, L&G, Aviva, Amlin, Standard Life, and Admiral had all bounced back from 52-week lows.
ODL said some investors believed that the worst was behind the financial services sector, with banking stocks leading the charge. But others felt it was little more than a bear rally. Insurance stocks still have a way to go. Aviva, for instance, is currently trading at about the 279p mark, a far cry from its 52-week high of 668.5p.
Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
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