Key Metrics for Valuing Insurance Companies

Most investors avoid trying to value financial firms due to their complicated nature. However, a number of straightforward valuation techniques and metrics can help them quickly decide whether digging deeper into valuation work will be worth the effort. These straightforward techniques and metrics also apply to insurance companies, though there are also a number of more specific industry valuation measures, such as return on equity (ROE) and price-to-book (P/B). Another important consideration is float, which involves generating additional revenue by investing premium funds before claims are paid.

Mastering the Fundamentals of Insurance

On the face of it, the concept of an insurance business is pretty straightforward. An insurance firm pools together premiums that customers pay to offset the risk of loss. This risk of loss can apply to many different areas, which explains why health, life, property, and casualty (P&C) and specialty line (more unusual insurance where risks are more difficult to evaluate) insurers exist. The difficult part of being an insurer is properly estimating what future insurance claims will be and setting premiums at a level that will cover these claims, as well as leave ample profit for shareholders.

Beyond the above core insurance operations, insurers run and manage investment portfolios. The funds for these portfolios come from reinvesting profits (such as earned premiums, where the premium is kept because no claim occurred during the policy’s duration) and from premiums before they get paid out as claims. 

This second category is a concept known as float and is important to understand. Warren Buffett frequently explains what float is in Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder letters. Back in 2000, he wrote:

“To begin with, float is money we hold but don’t own. In an insurance operation, float arises because premiums are received before losses are paid, an interval that sometimes extends over many years. During that time, the insurer invests the money. This pleasant activity typically carries with it a downside: The premiums that an insurer takes in usually do not cover the losses and expenses it eventually must pay. That leaves it running an “underwriting loss”, which is the cost of float. An insurance business has value if its cost of float over time is less than the cost the company would otherwise incur to obtain funds. But the business is a lemon if its cost of float is higher than market rates for money.”

Buffett also touches on what makes valuing an insurance company difficult. An investor has to trust that the firm’s actuaries are making sound and reasonable assumptions that balance the premiums they take in with the future claims they will have to pay out as insurance payments. Major errors can ruin a firm, and risks can run many years out, or decades in the case of life insurance.

Key Metrics for Valuing Insurance Companies

A couple of key metrics can be used to value insurance companies, and these metrics happen to be common to financial firms in general. These are price to book (P/B) and return on equity (ROE).

P/B is a primary valuation measure that relates the insurance firm’s stock price to its book value, either on a total firm value or a per-share amount. Book value, which is simply shareholders’ equity, is a proxy for a firm’s value should it cease to exist and be completely liquidated. Price to tangible book value strips out goodwill and other intangible assets to give the investor a more accurate gauge of the net assets left over should the company close shop. 

A quick rule of thumb for insurance firms (and again, for financial stocks in general) is that they are worth buying at a P/B level of 1 and are on the pricey side at a P/B level of 2 or higher.

For an insurance firm, book value is a solid measure of most of its balance sheet, which consists of bonds, stocks, and other securities that can be relied on for their value given an active market for them.

ROE measures the income level an insurance firm is generating as a percentage of shareholder’s equity or book value. An ROE of around 10% suggests a firm is covering its cost of capital and generating an ample return for shareholders. The higher the better, and a ratio in the mid-teens is ideal for a well-run insurance firm.

Other comprehensive income (OCI) is also worth a look. This measure shows the implications of an investment portfolio on profits. OCI can be found on the balance sheet, but the measure is also now on its own statement in an insurance firm’s financial statements. It gives a clearer indication of unrealized investment gains in the insurance portfolio and changes in equity or book value that are important to measure.

A number of valuation metrics are more specific to the insurance industry. The Combined Ratio measures incurred losses and expenses as a percentage of earned premiums. A ratio above 100% means the insurance firm is losing money on its insurance operations. Below 100% suggests an operating profit.

In the United Kingdom, insurance companies frequently use an annual premium equivalent (APE) to measure and compare sales of policies with differing premiums. APE compares recurring payment premiums from existing policies with single premium payments of newer policies.

One investment banking report advocated a focus on premium growth potential, the potential to introduce new products, the projected combined ratio for the business, and the expected payout of future reserves and associated investment income in regard to the new business an insurance firm is generating (because of the difference in timing between premiums and future claims). Therefore, the liquidation scenario and emphasis on book value are most valuable. Also, comparable approaches that compare a firm to its peers (such as ROE levels and trends) and buyout transactions are useful in valuing an insurer.

Discounted cash flow (DCF) can be used to value an insurance firm, but it is less valuable because cash flow is more difficult to gauge. This is due to the influence of the investment portfolio and resulting cash flows on the cash flow statement, which makes it harder to gauge the cash being generated from the insurance operations. Another complication mentioned above is that these flows require many years to generate.

Real-World Example: Valuing MetLife and Other Insurers

Below is an example to give a clearer picture of the above valuation discussion. Life insurer MetLife (MET) is one of the largest in the industry.

MetLife’s ROE has only averaged 6.84% over the last ten years and 2017 was a difficult year that they have recovered from. This was below the industry average of 9.43% during this period, but MetLife’s ratio is projected to reach 12% to 14% over the near term. China Life’s ten-year average ROE is currently 10.78%, and Prudential’s is 0.57%. MetLife is currently trading at a P/B of 0.5, which is below the industry average of 0.91. China Life’s P/B is 1.32, and Prudential’s is 1.68.

Based on the above, MetLife looks like a reasonable bet. Its ROE is returning to double digits and is above the industry average. Its P/B is also below 1, which is generally a good entry point for investors based on historical P/B trends. MetLife has a higher ROE than Prudential but less than China Life, and both P/B are much higher. This is where it becomes important to dig deeper into each firm’s financial statements. OCI is important in investigating investment portfolios, and analyzing growth trends will be needed to decide if paying a higher P/B multiple is warranted. If these firms outgrow the industry, they could be worth paying a premium.

The Bottom Line

As with any valuation exercise, there is as much art as science in getting to a reasonable value estimate. Historical numbers are easy to calculate and measure, but valuation is about making a reasonable estimate of what the future holds. In the insurance space, accurate predictions of metrics such as ROE are important, and paying a low P/B can help put the odds in investors’ favor.