(Bloomberg) – British insurers have been left reeling after the country's surprise decision to exit the European Union jeopardized the value of at least $2.6 trillion of their investments.

Aviva Plc and Legal & General Group Plc, the U.K.'s largest managers of pension assets, tumbled more than 15% in London trading on Friday, helping to erase almost 14 billion pounds ($19 billion) from the industry's market value. Prudential Plc, which generates most of its earnings outside the U.K., was down 8%.

"Insurers are highly sensitive to the U.K. vote to leave the EU because of their sizable investments in financial assets," Charles Graham, a senior industry analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence in London, wrote in a report. They "held 1.9 trillion pounds of assets at the end of 2014, most of them held by long-term savings providers" and are held domestically, he said.

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