Genworth's Long-Term Care Results 'Better Than Feared'

(Bloomberg) -- Genworth Financial jumped in early trading after losses at the long-term care unit were narrower than some analysts had expected.

The insurer rallied 15% to $9 at 7:32 a.m. in New York. The Richmond, Va.-based company had declined 8.1% this year through Tuesday.

Genworth posted a $760 million net loss, fueled by $478 million in costs to add to reserves for long-term care policies that the firm acquired before 1996, and set aside more funds at a New York unit, the company said late Tuesday in a statement. Long-term care coverage helps pay for home-health aides and nursing home stays.

“The charges and capital metrics that resulted from GNW’s LTC reserve review were in the ballpark of expectations and better than feared,” Ryan Krueger, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, wrote in a note to clients, using the company’s ticker symbol.

Genworth CEO Tom McInerney also announced a plan to cut jobs to help save $100 million annually.

Larger life insurers such as MetLife and Prudential Financial have stopped offering the long-term care policies after being burned by higher-than-expected claims costs.

Read more:

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Retirement planning Financial planning
MORE FROM FINANCIAL PLANNING