Stockwatch

Insurers may have done well in the recent rally but the overall picture doesn’t look good. According to Citi’s latest “undercover” report, insurance stocks are down globally and have fallen 46% over the past 12 months.

This is 7% more than the 39% drop in equities as a whole, and only slightly better than the 48% fall in bank stocks.

Citi found that property and casualty exposed names proved more resilient than their life insurance counterparts. The worst returns have come from insurers that have had significant banking or associated exposures.

Citi found a huge range between the best and worst performing shares, meaning the market was still influenced by micro-level stories.

The five best performing European stocks over the year were Paris Re, Scor, Mediolanum, Amlin, and Admiral. The worst performers included Swiss Life, ING, SNS REAAL, Irish Life & Permanent and Fortis.

This week, L&G experienced the highest increase when its shares rose 20.78% to 68p. Aviva was close behind with a 14.54% rise to 352.50p. And even though it was a favourite in Citi’s survey, Admiral’s shares plunged 5.9% to 861p over the week.