Fund managers have been buying up insurers over the big four banks to protect against an economic slowdown because customers will accept having to pay higher premiums – and they are finally starting to make money on their investments.

Companies such as ASX-listed insurers QBE and Insurance Australia Group, which were the unlikely winners of the latest reporting season, are chief among their top picks, with the former pushing through premium rate rises of as much as 12 per cent in the first half of the fiscal year to counter rising inflation pressures.