Summary
Canadian life insurers are also well poised. Poor exposure is limited and managable. The strength of the Canadian vs. US dollar helps also.
Analysis
Due to the much tighter governing regulations here in Canada, many Canadian insurance giants are well-poised to look at the bargains that AIG and Lehman have to offer. The country's three largest insurers, Manulife Financial, Sun Life Financial, and Great-West Life, have all outlined their investment exposure to AIG. Sun Life has about $315 million in debt tied to AIG, Great-West Life has about $347 million in exposure and Manulife has $374 million in AIG investments. Although these numbers sound high, they are of little consequence to multi-billion dollar insurers.The best part of this equation is the fact that DUE to this close government regulation, Canadian life insurers are also looking far more promising for investment than US insurers, as they can be more financially sound. There is even talk that Canadian life insurers are better investment risks than Canadian banks.
