Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. Business Reports

Demand is driven by demographics and commercial transactions, as well as by legal or financial requirements affecting customers. Consumers are usually required by states to buy auto insurance and by lenders to buy homeowners insurance, for example. The profitability of individual companies depends on effective marketing and on the ability to accurately estimate future payments. Large companies have big economies of scale in administration and in access to capital, as well as advertising and marketing. Small companies can compete successfully by specializing in particular products or industries. The industry is capital-intensive: average annual revenue per worker is about $1 million. In the late 2000s recession, insurers saw revenues decline sharply when their investment portfolios lost value after the market fell. Insurance carriers rely heavily on their investment portfolios, which is where they invest premiums collected until they are needed to pay claims or benefits. In addition, deregulation of the insurance and financial services industries led to increased risk taking that hurt insurers' credit ratings. Insurance giant AIG was forced to accept $150 billion in government loans to stave off bankruptcy that was brought on by its overexposure to credit default swaps. Federal government bailouts have primarily targeted banks. Aside from AIG, insurance companies have not been as hard hit by the subprime mortgage meltdown. But some insurance companies are seeking relief from state regulators to allow them to operate with less capital. Other insurance companies are buying financial institutions to qualify for federal aid.