Insurance Portfolio Soars 50% in Five Weeks

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Insurance stocks are the second-most volatile of any industry after banking shares, ensuring there's still money to be made on prudent picks.

TheStreet.com's recommended insurance-stock portfolio from five weeks ago, based on price-to-book value, has surged 50%, compared with a 4.2% gain in the S&P 500 and a 7% increase in the benchmark index's insurance subset. There are still opportunities to be had, as the economy rebounds, pushing up premiums, and as insurers restock capital, giving them a cushion. (Price-to-book value is calculated by taking a company's share price and dividing it by book value per share. Book value is the net asset value of a company, measured by total assets minus intangible assets (patents, goodwill) and liabilities.

Insurers' shares rise and fall frequently, as seen by their so-called beta value of 1.49 versus the S&P 500. Only banking stocks, such as Citigroup(C Quote) and Bank of America(BAC Quote), are higher, at 1.51. Industrial companies, represented by General Electric(GE Quote) and Boeing(BA Quote), have a beta of 1.08, and consumer staples, which include Wal-Mart(WMT Quote) and Coca-Cola(KO Quote), are at 0.53.

The star insurance performer was the Phoenix Cos.(PNX Quote), up 80% over five weeks. PMI Group(PMI Quote) rose 77%, Conseco(CNO Quote) increased 76% and Radian Group(RDN Quote) jumped 75%. Since June 24, Radian has soared almost five-fold.

Genworth(GNW Quote), which raised $564 million in a share sale this week, has risen 53% in the past five weeks, despite a 14% drop Sept. 1.

Even insurance zombie American International Group(AIG Quote) is up 48%. (To be sure, the stock is down 58% over the past year.)