In a recent piece entitled “The One Business I’ll Teach My Children”, Porter Stansberry discusses why Insurance is the world’s best business. It reads like a lecture on factors to consider when investing in insurance companies – i.e. float and underwriting profits. However, he also shows a chart of “four of the best-managed property and casualty (”P&C”) insurance companies in the United States”, providing the following descriptions:
Company No. 1 is a major global company that insures virtually anything and is worth roughly $41 billion. It has produced more than five times the S&P 500’s long-term return because, using a small equity base, the firm has profitably invested underwritten float into solid investments, year after year.
Company No. 2 started in the 1930s insuring jitney buses, and later, long-haul truckers. In 2019, it serves niche markets and underwrites specialty insurance products. The company is worth about $15 billion.
Company No. 3 got its start insuring contact lenses. In 2019, it focuses on things that other companies won’t touch, like oil rigs and summer camps. It’s a small public company worth a little more than $4 billion.
Company No. 4 was founded by a Harvard Business School graduate 50 years ago. It’s still mostly a family business (even though it has public shareholders and is worth around $13 billion). It insures almost anything commercial, from yachts to elevators.
Does the Thinkolator or its cult following (saying this in fondness) know the names of these companies?

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