Under-the-Radar Insurance Stocks for Today

"Under-the-Radar Stocks" is a daily feature that uncovers little-known companies worthy of investors' consideration. Check in at 5 every morning to find out about stocks that tend to beat their bigger brethren.

The U.S. insurance industry has lost tens of billions of dollars since the beginning of 2008 because of reduced underwriting, investment losses and higher claims. Titans such as The Hartford(HIG Quote), MetLife(MET Quote) and Genworth(GNW Quote) have been battered. And I'm not even going to mention American International Group(AIG Quote).

But a few regional companies are growing, in part, because they have a superior understanding of their markets. The following two micro-cap insurers demonstrate sound fundamentals, yet offer strong growth potential, and are trading at discounts. Few investors have heard of them, as most analysts focus on bigger companies.

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