周一亚欧股市全都走低，分析师称由于市场担心巨大而移动缓慢的飓风可能造成的损失，市场出现了温和的避险情绪。
GFT Markets公司驻伦敦策略师法瓦德-拉扎克扎达(Fawad Razaqzada)表示：“很显然，保险板块会遭遇压力，因为飓风会带来大量的索赔。航空板块也会遭受打击，因为从昨晚开始航线运营就遭遇了大规模的干扰。”
Hurricane Sandy could hit a few insurance stocks harder than others, KBW insurance analyst Cliff Gallant said Monday on CNBC.“The industry’s going to take a lot of losses, companies like Allstate [ALL 40.15 --- UNCH 
], Chubb [CB 77.96 --- UNCH ] and Travelers [TRV 71.56 --- UNCH ] are all going to be there taking losses on the commercial property side as well with flooding,” he said on “Fast Money.”
But, Gallant reminded, assessing risk is built into the business.
“Their balance sheets are actually pretty strong, particularly after what has been a benign year to date,” he said, adding that he expected to see shares in insurance companies trade lower when the market reopens, likely on Wednesday.
(Read More: Will Hurricane Sandy Cause Gas Shortage?: Pros)
“But that’s probably a buying opportunity,” he said. “You have to remember that that’s what these companies do.”
Asked to pick a top insurance company, Gallant said, “Chubb is a very high-quality company that’s going to take some losses here but probably the one with the strongest balance sheet.”
Brian Kelly of Shelter Harbor Capital said that the reinsurers were worth a look, many of which trade on European markets, which were not affected by the East Coast storm systems.
Mike Murphy of Rosecliff Capital said that the stock-price drops could present an opportunity.
“When insurance stocks tend to trade lower after any sort of a natural disaster … often the first cut is the deepest, and they rebound from there,” he said. “After these major catastrophes happen, these insurance companies can jack up the premiums, so you have more money coming in. you buy the initial pullback if it comes.”
Jon Najarian of OptionMonster.com said the insurance companies’ bottom lines might not be affected due to their offloading of risk to reinsurers.
“If this really slams the wrong way … that’s not going to be as bad for Chubb and Allstate as it is will be for these reinsurers,” he said, adding that many such companies were owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway [BRK.A 129725.00 --- UNCH ].
