Norman Levine American Financial Group Inc. AFG-N TOP PICK Dec 30, 2013

Slow and steady. Not a sexy company. They insure horses, speedboats, commercial car fleets. Because they dominate small niches, they just tend to slowly move along and slowly increase the dividend. Good corporate governance and good risk management.

A conservative name in an expensive market. Not in everyday insurance. Workers compensation, liability for lawyers, transportation equipment. Highly profitable. 1.7% yield raised consistently.

(Top Pick Dec 30/13, Up 9.25%) Workers Comp, Transpiration. Not home insurance, just highly profitable markets such as litigation insurance. Make their money on underwriting plus the investment income. 1.6% dividend.

Specialty property/casualty insuring for niche markets, where there is not as much competition. Probably one of the most profitable insurance companies globally. About 94% of their investments are in bonds, mostly investment grade, so they’ll be a major beneficiary when interest rates go up. Raises its dividend every year and have paid special dividends in the last 3 years. Dividend yield of 1.37%.

(A Top Pick Nov 3/14. Up 27.61%.) This company will benefit from rising interest rates in the US. It is a specialty, property, casualty Company. Most of their portfolio is in bonds, so they will benefit if rates go up.

(Market Call Minute) Higher bond yields would really help here.

(A Top Pick Aug 19/15. Up 4.25%.) A specialty, property company. Probably the least known and best run property casualty company in the US. They have niche markets such as trucking fleets, Californian Worker’s Compensation and liability insurance for lawyers. A rising rate environment will be good for this company.