Have had it for 20 years; bought more with the price so low. downside is, not, or little, dividends

Making Genworth's collapse all the more painful was the surge in insurance industry stock prices last Wednesday after a report that the Treasury was prepared to give some large life insurers an injection of government aid. The rally sent up shares of MetLife(MET) and Prudential(PRU), mega-insurers that have long had bank holding-company status, as well as Lincoln National(LNC), Hartford Financial(HIG) and Genworth, which jumped on the bank-buying bandwagon during the height of the credit crisis last year. For more, click here.

In the Thursday "Sell Block" segment, Cramer recited the mantra "when facts change, we change our minds," as he released life insurers Principal Financial (PFG), Prudential (PRU), Lincoln National (LNC) and Hartford Group (HIG) from solitary confinement.

BankingMyWay

Cramer said he doesn't want to own any of these names, but with the news that the government's TARP plan will be extended to the insurers, they're no longer toxic.

Cramer said there's no doubt these companies made a lot of terrible decisions, but TARP solves many of their problems and it's time to stop hating them. ("Mad Money Recap," 4-9-09)

"One of the big issues in this market, one that has put endless pressure on the financials, is the need for the big insurers to refinance their considerable debt load. Who has not watched with terror the action in Lincoln National (LNC) or Principal (PFG) or Hartford (HIG) or Genworth (GNW), my insurer by dint of its purchase of Mayflower -- my pristine carrier for so many years -- not that you get to vote on your insurer's takeover; I know I would never have voted for the cowboys at Genworth." ("Next, Fix the Insurers," 4-8-09)

Lincoln National (LNC), Prudential (PRU), MetLife (MET), Hartford (HIG) and Principal Financial Group (PFG) are right back on the red-hot griddle, and as a bull on the way down, this group is the only group that can truly shake my convictions. Given the exposure these firms have to bedrock principles, payoffs in annuities and life insurance, it is vital that some branch of the Treasury come on and say, "Look, your contractual obligations will be made good, regardless of the ramifications of the companies themselves." These deals have to be like pension benefit guarantees, but the government doesn't seem to be aware of it.

Lincoln National (LNC)? No follow-through.

We see the banks reversing. I continue to point out Bank of New York (BK) and State Street (STT) as the best way to play the new, liberal FASB rules that are coming. Goldman Sachs (GS), covered by Doug Kass in yesterday's downturn, has lifted again. That has been the leader, and it remains so. Lincoln National (LNC)? No follow-through. Hartford (HIG)? Not down on the downgrade.

But then there are companies that I remember being in the $20s and $30s, companies like Gannett (GCI), New York Times (NYT), Hartford (HIG), Lincoln (LNC). I just can't believe where they are.

Buy - Price 17.77 on Feb. 10
by Sterne Agee & Leach

[Operating in the U.S. and U.K., the insurer and investment manager] LNC reported 4Q08 operating EPS of minus-48 cents, versus our [estimate of] 7 cents and First Call's consensus 10 cents. The miss was driven by higher [deferred acquisition-cost] charges... of $77 million, or 30 cents a share, which were not in our estimate. Market cap: $4.2 billion.

You have phenomenal moves in the companies that are perceived to hold mortgage-related assets like Hartford Financial (HIG) and Lincoln National (LNC).