Cost efficiency of international insurance firms

This article examines the cost efficiency of insurance firms located in 11 countries over a five-year period, 1988–1992. Two X-inefficiency measures are derived, one from the stochastic cost frontier model and the other from the distribution-free model. The results show that X-inefficiencies not only vary by country but by size and specialization. Firms in Finland and France have the lowest X-inefficiency, while firms in the United Kingdom have the highest. On average, small firms are more cost efficient than large firms worldwide. Firms grouped into those offering single or specialized services also operate more cost efficiently than those offering a combination of life and nonlife services (combined firms). The results also indicate that the X-inefficiency estimates derived from the stochastic cost frontier model are more suitable for this sample of data than those derived from the distribution-free model.     

Solvency Ⅱ与C-ROSS非寿险保险风险最低资本要求比较研究——基于中国60家财产保险公司的经验证据

本文以非寿险业务保险风险最低资本要求为考察对象,研究了欧盟Solvency Ⅱ与中国C-ROSS的差异,并利用中国保险市场60家财险公司的经验数据,对两者之间的差异进行了实证和模拟分析。研究结果表明,Solvency Ⅱ和C-ROSS对中国财险公司保险风险最低资本要求存在差异。对于拥有传统业务结构的财险公司,Solvency Ⅱ对保险风险最低资本要求更高,但是这种差距随着公司业务规模的缩小而减弱;对于以经营某些专业险种为主的财险公司,主营业务险种对两者差异具有决定性影响。本文的研究结论详细解释了Solvency Ⅱ与C-ROSS在非寿险保险风险最低资本计算上的异同,对C-ROSS下一步的修订工作提供了一定的支持与参考。     

Investigating the stationarity of insurance premiums: international evidence

This article explores whether there is support for the stationarity hypotheses of life and non-life insurance premiums during the period 1979–2007 for 40 heterogeneous countries. The stationarity of insurance premiums affects insurance companies’ prediction on their future inflow of premium income, which affects the liquidity of insurance companies and their investment plans and thus is relevant to the insurers’ operation. This article employs the advanced nonlinear panel unit-root test with a sequential panel selection method to classify the entire panel into two groups: stationary countries and non-stationary countries. We apply Monte Carlo simulations to derive empirical distributions of the test, which allows us to correct for the finite-sample bias and to consider the cross-country effects. We find relatively stationary life insurance premiums in countries from the following groups: high-income, Europe, and common law origin; relatively stationary non-life insurance premiums exist in the following groups: low-income, Middle East and Africa, and common law origin. Evidence herein shows that different classifications, including income levels, geographic regions, regionally or economically integrated blocs, and legal system, affect the stationarity of life and non-life insurance premiums.     

Net value created: measuring a non-life insurer’s performance

The measure Net Value Created (NVC) captures periodic deviations of planned for and realized net present values at a specific reporting date. Therefore, NVC provides control-related signals about the company’s performance additional to economic value added/residual income measures. In this paper we adopt the NVC to the Flow to Equity approach, commonly used in non-life insurance company valuation. In a multi-period context the NVC allows for an update of information over time regarding planned for and realized values and, it further allows for a separation of value contributions of the main insurer’s business units and value contributions due to a change in cost of capital. Thus, NVC is useful for value-based performance measurement in the retrospect and for strategic (investment-) decision support in the prospect for non-life insurance companies.     

企业成长的影响因素——基于中国寿险业的实证研究

企业成长理论是是近年来研究的热门话题,但在国内的文献却不多,以保险业为研究对象更少。以我国寿险企业以研究对象,检验是否遵从Gibrat法则,探讨寿险企业成长的驱动力。结果发现,国内寿险企业规模呈高度斜性分布,即企业规模不是一个纯粹随机事件,必然与某些因素相关;并选取2005年～2009年国内26家寿险企业,采用随机效应面板模型,结论是短期内企业成长与企业规模相关,并不支持Gibrat法则。另外还发现,寿险企业成长受投入成本、是否是集团企业和行业集中度等因素影响,但与分保比例和GDP增速关系不显著。     

我国保险产品结构的合理性分析

近年来,我国保险市场存在着产品结构不合理的现实问题,虽然强调"转方式、调结构",但主要是针对寿险业务结构的调整,并未注意到寿险业务与非寿险业务比例结构的合理性,财产保险市场发展薄弱.本文首先从产品保障功能的角度对产品结构合理性的衡量问题进行了讨论,引入了"非寿险业务占比"指标作为衡量保险业发展健康程度的指标.通过对国际...     

Economies of scale in financial institutions: A general model applied to insurance

This study describes and applies an alternative methodology for measuring economies of scale in financial institutions. A complete model of a profit maximizing financial intermediary is constructed which yields a set of first-order conditions. These together with linear specifications of appropriate revenue and cost functions permit a two-stage estimation of cost and revenue parameters.Application of the model is illustrated by using data from the Canadian general insurance industry. Estimated cost functions suggest (1) that joint stock insurance firms realize no economies of scale from expansion of activity in any one line of insurance but realize diversification economies from writing the same aggregate dollar premiums over appreciably more lines; (2) that mutual companies enjoy direct economies of scale from a simultaneous expansion of insurance lines and, possibly, some diversification economies. Diversification economies may or may not yield special advantages to large firms depending on the competitive state of the reinsurance market.     

保险会计新准则对非寿险业的影响

保险会计新准则的变化主要体现在保费收入确认和准备金计量两个方面。由于绝大多数非寿险产品都能通过重大保险风险测试,保费收入几乎没有变化,因此新准则对非寿险业的影响主要体现在准备金计量上。新准则要求非寿险公司运用"三要素法"计量准备金,这将使得非寿险公司的准备金计量方式、财务管理模式和利润情况发生重大变化,对非寿险公司产生近期与远期的深远影响。     

我国产险公司利用赔款准备金实现盈余管理的实证研究

利用我国产险业2001--2005年的财务数据,本文采用盈余频率分布模型,发现产险公司存在盈余管理现象。在此基础上,本文实证分析产险公司赔款准备金与盈余管理及其他财务指标之间的关联性,揭示公司调整赔款准备金的动机。结果表明,产险公司存在利用赔款准备金评估方式修饰盈余的动机。当承保结果不佳、赔付恶化,或者投资收益较低时,产险公司会低估赔款准备金,虚增账面盈余。应对监营也是产险公司利用赔款准备金进行盈余管理的重要诱因。中、外资产险公司税赋动机存在显著的差异。2005年赔款准备金评估方法的改变并未显著减弱产险公司利用赔款准备金进行盈余管理的动机,但赔款准备金提取的谨慎程度显著提高。     

我国产险公司个险产品与银行对接的创新方向

本文分析了我国产险公司与银行在个险产品上的合作现状,研究了西方国家保险业发展的相关经验,然后结合实际提出了我国产险公司个险产品与银行对接的若干创新方向.主要包括:在产品相对简单的大型个险市场与银行网站和电话银行对接;与银行业务类似或互补或利用银行结算等功能对接的产品创新;与保护银行和消费者利益及建立有效的风险共担机制对接的产品创新;与银行追求高额利润和以"问题解决者"面貌出现的产品及金融服务创新;与银行卡及楼宇按揭客户等银行核心资源对接的分散业务的批发化创新;与保险交易的便利性对接的保单标准化组合化及卡式保单创新;等.     

国外车险里程定价理论与实践

基于里程定价的车险产品不但可以通过合理反映被保险人的保险成本以体现保费收取的公平性,而且一定程度上具有有效缓解交通堵塞、降低能源消耗、减少环境污染和温室气体排放等综合社会效益,目前已成为欧美发达国家车险市场上一款流行的产品。在系统梳理和总结国外车险按里程定价的理论与实践的基础上,对其进行了效益分析,并对实施中可能存在的问题进行了深入探讨,将为我国车险市场改革和产品结构升级提供启示,也为我国财险公司开发按里程定价的车险产品提供有益的理论支持和实践参考,以更加有利于我国车险费率市场化和非寿险公司的科学经营。     

RELATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF NON-LIFE REINSURANCE MARKETING METHODS

Abstract: This paper extends the study of the relative cost efficiency of insurance delivery systems from the primary market to the market for non-life reinsurance services. As in the primary market for insurance services there are two predominant methods of marketing reinsurance services: reinsurers who rely on employees, termed direct writers, and those who rely on brokers.
An extensive literature relating to the primary market for non-life insurance consistently indicates that independent agency insurers have a cost disadvantage relative to exclusive agency insurers. This literature also suggests that independent agency insurers may supply superior service but a continuing erosion of the market share of independent agency insurers suggests that the perceived service differential is not valued sufficiently to offset the perceived cost differential.
The authors find evidence that, cet. par., broker supplied reinsurers operate with lower costs than direct reinsurers but we find less convincing evidence of a service differential favoring direct reinsurers. More significantly, we observe that the largest component of the traditional measure of the reinsurer's cost is the commission paid back to the primary insurer: the seemingly lower cost brokers provide a higher net cost product. Yet brokers thrive in the marketplace suggesting the existence of a product differentiated by service or quality. With the important caveat that measures of service are imperfect and data is limited, we find no evidence of a service differential.     

On the Cost Structure of the Japanese Property-Casualty Insurance Industry

This article tests economies of scale and economies of scope for the property‐casualty insurance companies in Japan. We fit a composite cost function to a set of Japanese firms over the period from 1980 to 1995 and employ an error components model. Our main findings are as follows. First, statistically significant economies of scale are observed in both Japanese firms and foreign firms operating in Japan. Second, economies of scope are also statistically significant for Japanese firms and most of the foreign insurers between the “third sector” products and the rest of the property‐casualty insurance lines.     

Unallocated loss adjustment expense reserving

In non-life insurance, the provision for outstanding claims (the claims reserve) should include future loss adjustment expenses, i.e. administrative expenses to settle the claims, and therefore we have to estimate the expected Unallocated Loss Adjustment Expenses (ULAE) – expenses that are not attributable to individual claims, such as salaries at the claims handling department. The ULAE reserve has received little attention from European actuaries in the literature, supposedly because of the lack of detailed data for estimation and evaluation. Having good estimation procedures will, however, become even more important with the introduction of the Solvency II regulations, which require unbiased estimation of future cash flows for all expenses. We present a model for ULAE at the individual claim level that includes both fixed and variable costs. This model leads to an estimate of the ULAE reserve at the aggregate (line-of-business) level, as demonstrated in a numerical example from a Swedish non-life insurer.     

Cost efficiency and board composition under different takaful insurance business models

This study examines the link between cost efficiency and board composition in non-life takaful insurance firms operating in 17 Islamic countries using panel data for 2004–2007. Nonparametric data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used to compute cost efficiency scores and a second-stage logit transformation regression model is then employed to test the influence of corporate characteristics on these efficiencies. We find that average levels of cost efficiency in takaful insurance markets mirror the efficiency in developed non-life insurance markets. The relative influence of board composition, such as the proportion of non-executive directors on the board, on the cost efficiency of takaful insurers depends on its interaction with other firm-specific characteristics such as board size. Hence, the effect of corporate governance systems on the cost efficiency of takaful insurers can be complicated by various firm-specific factors. Our results could have important commercial and policy implications.     

Authors’ Reply: Forecasting Social Security Actuarial Assumptions - Discussion by John A. Beekman; Cecil J. Nesbitt; Krzysztof M. Ostaszewski; Gregory Savord; Richard S. Foster,October 1997

Abstract

This study provides an economic analysis of life insurance company expenses and develops a methodology for the construction of benchmark expense factors. These benchmarks can facilitate the pricing of new business, cost control within companies, and expense comparisons among companies. We derive the expense factors by estimating a cost function wherein total general expenses are modeled as a function of input prices and physical outputs, and the physical outputs are proxies for the cost drivers of the different lines of business. This methodology has two important advantages: first, the derived expense factors are independent of the methods that insurers use in allocating total expenses across lines of business. Second, the estimated cost function explicitly accounts for different degrees of economies of scale and consequently in the present value of marginal expenses across insurers. Hence, this study demonstrates that economies of scale and, in turn, size must be considered when constructing an expense table.     

Does insurance activity promote economic growth? Further evidence based on bootstrap panel Granger causality test

This study applies the bootstrap panel Granger causality test to test whether insurance activity promotes economic growth, using data from 10 OECD countries over the period of 1979–2006. Empirical results indicate that one-way Granger causality running from all insurance activities to economic growth for France, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, and the UK, and economic growth Granger causes insurance activities in Canada (for life insurance), Italy (for total and life insurance) and the USA (for total and non-life insurance). There is a two-way Granger causality between life insurance activity and economic growth in the USA, while no causality between insurance activities and economic growth is found in Belgium (for all insurance), Canada (for total and non-life insurance), Italy (for non-life insurance) and Sweden (for life insurance). Our results also confirm the finding of Ward and Zurbruegg [Does insurance promote economic growth? Evidence from OECD economies. Journal of Risk and Insurance 67, no. 4: 489–506] showing that the insurance–growth nexus varies across countries, since their paper have previously demonstrated heterogeneity in this vein. In an analysis of a broader, though overlapping 17-country sample and taking into account banking activities, the results suggest the importance of including banking activities when investigating the insurance–growth relationship.     

区位、企业规模、股权结构和成本效率：基于我国19家高速公路上市企业的实证研究

本文利用我国19家高速公路上市企业2001—2005年财务数据采用随机成本边界模型(SFCM)对高速公路企业的成本效率进行估计,并对可能影响企业成本效率的不可控变量,如区位、企业规模和股权结构等构建无效率影响因子模型进行假设和验证。本文主要结论是:我国高速公路上市企业的成本效率普遍比较低。有效利用资源、严格控制成本应该是每一个高速公路企业不容忽视的问题;总体上看,高速公路上市企业的成本效率经历了先下降后上升的过程,企业的成本控制水平在向积极方面转化;经济区位对高速公路企业成本效率产生间接影响;我国高速公路企业发展正处于规模报酬递增阶段,企业规模越大,其成本效率相对越高;国有股占比对企业成本效率影响不显著。     

国外寿险领域银行保险的发展及对中国的启示

银行保险是目前国际上盛行的保险销售渠道,尤其是在寿险领域中成效显著。通过分析银行保险在寿险领域中的发展状况,研究了银行保险寿险产品的特征与趋势,以及影响银行保险在寿险领域中发展的相关因素。本文认为,我国保险公司在开展银行保险方面,应首先保证银行保险的低成本优势,同时依据现阶段的政策环境,顺应银行与客户的需求,开发新型的银保寿险产品。