Why is the IAG share price lifting 6% higher today?

This ASX insurance share is catching a bid today.

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Key points

  • IAG shares have lifted in today's session
  • Investors have bid the share up on no news while the financial sector is relatively flat today
  • The IAG share price is down 8% in the past 12 months

The Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price is trading higher today.

At the time of writing, investors have bid the IAG share price 6.41% into the green to $4.48 on no news.

In broader market moves the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) is trading 0.2% lower.

Both the index and the IAG share price have whipsawed this year to date, as seen on the chart below.

TradingView Chart

What's up with the IAG share price?

The ASX insurance share has caught a bid today despite finishing the week in the red last Friday. It closed at $4.21 a share, not too shy of its 52-week low of $4.14 a month earlier.

Fast forward and investors have bought in at the lows today. The company has caught buyers all the way across the session at the time of writing.

It certainly wasn't the same sentiment last week when IAG released its preliminary FY22 results.

The company revealed it expects an insurance profit of $586 million, resulting in a margin of 7.4%. That was below the guided range of 10-12%.

It also said that gross written premium (GWP) is set to increase this financial year. At the same time, it increased natural peril allowance by around 19% to $909 million in its FY23 guidance.

Not only that, but the prospect of rising interest rates could bode well for the IAG share price, according to CIO at Atlas Funds Management Hugh Dive.

"[R]ising interest rates don't impact all companies…" he told Livewire. "I think the insurance companies will do well particularly."

The IAG share price is down 8% in the past 12 months but is up 6% this year to date.

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Insurance Australia Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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