With Bin Laden Dead, Are Other Villains Buying Life Insurance?

Now that a Navy SEAL team ensured that Bin Laden sleeps with the fishes, other leading villains across the globe are wondering if they're next. After all, most evil leaders have a wife or ten, and countless children. Even the most heartless among them would probably take a break from genocide and terror to make sure their offspring are cared for. So, if dictators across the globe go on a life-insurance buying spree, which companies are likely to benefit? With a market cap of just over $100 billion, China Life Insurance LFC is the largest of the big insurance companies. Might the world's next generation of Husseins and Bin Ladens be tempted by the “China” tag, assuming a, shall we say, slightly relaxed attitude toward morality if the profit margin is correct? For the serious investor, LFC is trading around its 52-week low, perhaps giving it room to grow in the future -- with or without the additional business brought on by the likes of the Joker, Penguin, or Ghaddafi. The next stock has half the market cap of China Life, but comes with a name folks on main street might recognize. MetLife MET certainly rings a bell among investors, as it's been the most traded insurance stock the last 3 months. It also offer an EPS of $3.00 and a dividend of $0.74, making it a value for investors of all stripes. To the extent that a number can be arousing, Prudential Public Limited Company PUK offers a dividend that shows more than a little leg. At $1.11, with a 4.30% yield, Prudential offers a cash benefit to investors who bet on the insurance giant. Prudential's stock also features an EPS of $1.89 and a PE of 13.5. When it comes to picking “safe” stocks, it's usually a good idea to see how much of the company is owned by institutions. They are less likely to take wild guesses on investments, and much more likely to have their money invested for a longer-haul. So perhaps it is a good sign, then, that Manulife Financial MFC is 52% owned by institutions. MFC has some interesting financials behind it, too. It offers a dividend (last one was $0.53, 2.9% yield) but showed a negative EPS last quarter. Still, it offers a reasonably good debt to free-cash ratio of 1.15. MFC is at least worth a second look. One more insurance company that villains are likely to turn to is Aviva AV. Aviva is perhaps best known for its new policy of “putting people before profits.” Might that be an enticing marketing campaign for a global overlord in need of a little life insurance policy? The UK-based insurance company offers a healthy dividend $1.04 (6.90% yield) and an EPS of $1.66. Is that enough to drive your portfolio higher? Maybe.