Report: U.S. life insurers’ bond portfolios more vulnerable

November 16, 2015 by Warren S. Hersch

U.S. life insurers are more exposed to corporate credit risk than they were before the 2007–2009 financial crisis. And that makes them more vulnerable to a downgrading of their credit ratings if credit markets and the economy take a turn for the worse.

The source of this analysis: Fitch Ratings. A special report of the credit ratings agency, “U.S. Life: Growing Exposure to Corporate Bond Migration,” warns that U.S. life insurers’ credit ratings could be revised downward in a future recession because the carriers’ assets enjoy “lower credit quality and lower liquidity characteristics” than they did before the 2007-2009 downturn. Click HERE to read article

Originally Posted at LifeHealthPro on November 12, 2015 by Warren S. Hersch.