Low interest rates are generally bad news for insurers. Investment returns — which have traditionally been a critical source of profits — fall, while it becomes harder for life insurers to meet promises that were made to policyholders when rates were higher. So the prospect of higher US interest rates was met with some relief by the insurance industry. Since Donald Trump won the US election in November, US insurers’ share prices have risen about 18 per cent. Even in Europe, where the chance of a rate rise is much further away, insurance shares have risen 14 per cent since the US presidential election. Low rates have forced insurers to change their business models over the past decade...