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Fitch: U.S. Life Insurers Face Higher Energy-Related Losses in 2016U.S. life insurers are expected to report higher energy-related investment losses in 2016 driven by slumping oil prices, according to a Fitch Ratings report on the industry's exposure to energy-related corporate bond investments. "U.S. life insurers face $3 - 4 billion of energy-related corporate bond losses in 2016, which we view as manageable in relation to industry earnings and capital," said Tana Higman, Director, Insurance, Fitch Ratings. Under Fitch's base case scenario, expected energy-related corporate bond losses are approximately 5% of the industry's statutory earnings and 1% of statutory capital, and includes impairments based on a 11% high yield default rate assumption and portfolio repositioning trading losses. Energy corporate bond exposure for U.S. life insurers is in line with the broader corporate bond market at approximately 11% - 12%. This equates to approximately 5% of total cash and invested assets for U.S. life insurers. The credit quality of life insurers' energy-related corporate bond holdings is better than the broader market given their historical focus on investment-grade bonds. Fitch estimates that approximately 15% of the industry's energy-related corporate bonds are rated non-investment grade compared to approximately 30% for the broader market. "While U.S. life insurers are relatively well-positioned to ride out the oil slump, in a 'lower for longer' oil price scenario insurers may be more susceptible to ratings downgrades if energy contagion spills into other asset classes," said Doug Meyer, Managing Director, Insurance, Fitch Ratings. Fitch estimates that U.S. life insurers' energy highyield exposure in 2015 increased to 15% which could trigger higher regulatory capital requirements for many insurers. The full 'U.S. Life Insurers: Higher Energy-Related Losses in 2016' is available at 'www.fitchratings.com' or by clicking the link below. Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'. U.S. Life Insurers: Higher Energy-Related Losses in 2016 (Expected Investment Losses Appear Manageable) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=877479 ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160209006466/en/ |
