As banks spurn risk, insurers emerge as financial supermarkets

New York

WHEN all else fails, lend.

That's the strategy of some of the biggest US insurers as they seek higher returns in an investment universe where buying bonds sometimes means guaranteed losses.

The largest US banks are constrained by post-2008 rules that make it tougher for them to extend loans. So companies such as MetLife Inc and American International Group Inc are grasping more market share.

While many insurers have been in the commercial real-estate market for decades, the industry is branching out into home mortgages, small-business lending, car loans, renewable-energy financing and student debt.

"There's no question that insurance companies are looking to diversify into new areas and innovate as much as possible," said Adam Hamm, North D…