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Baldwin & Lyons (BWINB) |
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WIKI ANALYSIS
Baldwin & Lyons is an Indiana underwriting property and casualty insurer and reinsurer. B&L, through its subsidiaries, write protective insurance with licenses in the U.S. and Canada and is domiciled and licensed in Bermuda. Of its subsidiaries, roughly 59% of gross direct premium written are attributable to B&L.
Business Growth
B&L aggregates its businesses through two lines of business, including:
- Property and Casualty Insurance represents roughly 84.6% of loss expense reserves. This segment provides multiple line insurance coverage primarily to trucking companies.
- Reinsurance assumed represents 14.0% of loss expense reserves. This segment accepts cessions from other insurance companies in events of natural catastrophes.
The company has traditionally derived a significant percentage of direct premium volume from FedEx Ground. As a result, the loss of FedEx as a customer would have a material effect on the company's business.
Trends and Forces
Climate Change Factors may Increase the Likelihood of Natural Catastrophes, Increasing B&L's Payout
In recent events, increased natural catastrophic events such as Sendai Earthquake in Japan, Haiti Earthquake, and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar have caused increased property losses than ever before. Some scientists claim that global warming factors are a cause for an increased rate of natural disasters and will continue to increase as the temperature of the Earth heats up.[1] Because insurance companies are susceptible to "tail risk" events in which multiple natural catastrophes, B&L would be in direct liability of such factors as this would increase the probability of natural catastrophe occurrences that are not yet factored into current underwritten policies.
Different Regulations within Operating Regions affect Interest Reserves B&L Must Set
B&L operates in all 50 states within the US, District of Columbia, as well as all Canadian provinces and Bermuda. Because the amount of interest reserves and insurance rates charged on insurance products are regulated by each state, B&L has less flexibility in how much capital it may pay out to shareholders or reinvestments into its own businesses.[2]
Competition
B&L competes with large insurers that have more capability to spread out its risk through more underwriting venues and geographical regions, including:
- Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) owns a large insurance and reinsurance division which it uses to produce "float" to fund other projects. BRK insurance also provides life, accident and health risk coverage through insurance and reinsurance.
- American International Group (AIG) is an international insurance organization that provides property casualty operations through multiple line companies writing all commercial and consumer lines both domestically and abroad.
- Ace (ACE) is a holding company of global insurance and reinsurance companies that fulfill personal accident, supplemental health, life insurance, as well as natural catastrophic event products.
References
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