Insurance Rating Games: Strikes,Spares, and Bags

Carefully designed classroom activities and games can be used to increase student engagement, motivation, and learning. This article describes two games that have been used with students of risk management and insurance to help highlight the intricacies of insurance pricing. These two games, bowling insurance and bags insurance, help students experience the challenging nature of premium determination in risk transfer contracts and also connect the various actions taken by insurers during the insurance transaction.     

The Risk Balls Game: Transforming Risk and Insurance Into Tangible Concepts

The Risk Balls game is used as a game in an introductory insurance course to demonstrate in a tangible way the notion of risk and its relationship to insurance. Through playing with the ``risk balls,' each one representing a different type of risk, the students experience feelings of anxiety about risk, and later, the sense of anxiety reduction when they transfer the risk balls to insurers. The game incorporates complex concepts of risk transfer and risk reduction via pooling and sharing of risk. The mathematical implications of the law of large numbers are physically felt in the classroom when the students experience the relief associated with transferring the risk balls to insurers. The discussion that ensues during the game includes aspects of the underwriting process; moral hazard; adverse selection; the role of agents, insurers, and regulators; and the nature of the insurance contract. The game of risk balls stimulates lively group discussions and provides hands-on experience with risks such as premature death risk or fire risk and the fears associated with them.     

中国的“影子保险”:来自监管自然实验的证据

影子保险在金融稳定中扮演着重要角色,但现有文献较多关注影子银行,对影子保险关注不足。“影子保险”即保险公司通过再保险方式将保险业务转移给不受监管或者受监管较弱的关联企业的活动,这会推高其真实的杠杆水平,增加金融体系脆弱性。然而,由于影子保险的不透明性和缺少自然实验,现有研究仅基于有限数据或模型给出简单的特征事实或结构性估计,很少能从因果关系上清楚地识别影子保险活动及其机制。本文利用中国加强对中资保险公司(处理组)再保险关联交易监管的政策冲击这一自然实验,使用微观数据和双重差分方法,识别了中国金融体系中的影子保险活动。研究发现,相关监管有效降低了影子保险活动,这一效应对集团公司的影响尤为显著;在机制方面,相关监管通过影响中资保险公司资产负债表两端的结构性调整进而降低了其风险承担行为,提高了经营稳定性。本文方法对识别金融机构的监管套利和防范系统性金融风险具有一定参考意义。     

Value Creation in the Insurance Industry

Using the insights of current research in corporate finance and financial institutions, the authors briefly present a consistent economic framework for looking at insurance. Shareholders of insurance companies provide risk capital that is invested in financial assets and therefore earns the market return of the assets it is invested in. However, due to the legal and fiscal environment insurance companies are in, they have a competitive disadvantage at investing, and this gives rise to frictional capital costs. The core competence of insurers is in managing the size of these frictional capital costs. Insurers must ensure that they can sell insurance for a price in excess of what they need to produce the cover they sell and compensate the incurred frictional costs on risk capital. It is through the ability to do so that insurers create shareholder value.     

Why haven’t U.S. GAAP and IFRS on insurance contracts converged? Evidence from an unsuccessful joint project

This study examines the FASB’s and IASB’s unsuccessful joint project on accounting for insurance contracts. It highlights the divergent views the Boards may hold on certain fundamental accounting issues. Further, this study examines how the costs and benefits of accounting standard convergence can vary within an industry, conditional on factors such as prior accounting standards and firms’ global operations. Empirically, U.S. insurers’ negative market reactions to the joint insurance project suggest U.S. investors perceived net costs would outweigh net benefits. This study also finds that market reactions of U.S. insurers were more negative than those of European insurers. The results of cross-sectional analyses indicate that U.S. life insurers perceived higher net costs associated with the joint project, while European insurers with more global revenue perceived higher net benefits. This work illuminates some of the challenges facing standard setters when attempting to develop a globally acceptable set of financial reporting standards.     

THE ESTIMATED IMPACT OF RESIDUAL MARKET ASSESSMENTS ON FLORIDA PROPERTY INSURERS

Abstract: The authors examine the risk financing approach of the Florida state-sponsored property insurance programs. The programs rely heavily on post-disaster assessments on insurers to meet expected obligations. The authors evaluate the impact of the assessments and discuss whether this approach represents a realistic solution to the "cat problem."     

State regulation and the structure,conduct, efficiency and performance of US auto insurers

This research investigates the impact of regulation on state automobile insurance markets while controlling for other state insurance market characteristics that may be related to performance. Data for a large sample of insurers are analyzed. The results suggest that insurers in competitive and non-stringently regulated states may benefit from market power by charging higher unit prices, however insurers in these states are on average more cost X-efficient and cost X-efficient insurers charge lower prices and earn smaller profits. The empirical results also suggest that insurers in some rate regulated states are less revenue and cost-scale efficient than in competitive states.     

How the automotive insurance claims experience affects customer retention

The authors were commissioned to carry out a study of the way in which the experience of automotive insurance companies of claiming after an accident affected their attitude to companies and their subsequent loyalty. A consumer omnibus study was used to identify relevant market segments and to provide an estimate for the overall number of claims. This indicated that under half of all motorists had claimed on either their own or on another driver's insurance. A telephone questionnaire was then used to determine customers' actual experience of the claims process and their attitudes to insurance companies and to car insurance in general. Three hundred telephone interviews were conducted with motorists using a bought-in list of drivers. These respondents were distributed throughout the UK. There was an equal split of men and women drivers. All those interviewed were responsible for arranging and purchasing their own motor insurance. The study found that whether a replacement car was provided and the standard of the replacement car had a strong effect on customers' subsequent loyalty. It also identified many aspects of the automotive claims experience that could be improved to the benefit of both customers and insurers.     

The Insurance Industry's Talent Gap and Where We Go From Here

There is concern among insurers and related firms in the United States and abroad that there will be a shortage of skilled insurance professionals in the next few years as current workers retire. Though there have been discussions among insurers, organizations, and academics as to how to address this issue, until recently, each group has been primarily working in isolation. The Insurance Education & Career Summit, which took place in September 2011, brought together 110 individuals across these groups for the purpose of creating a unified strategy to both attract and retain skilled workers to the insurance industry and work to create the next generation of insurance executives. This article provides a brief background on the talent gap issue. We also discuss its potential impact on the insurance industry. Finally, we summarize the main obstacles identified by Summit participants to both attracting and retaining skilled workers as well as the strategies developed to overcome these obstacles.     

Testing for Adverse Selection in Insurance Markets

This article reviews and evaluates the empirical literature on adverse selection in insurance markets. We focus on empirical work that seeks to test the basic coverage–risk prediction of adverse selection theory—that is, that policyholders who purchase more insurance coverage tend to be riskier. The analysis of this body of work, we argue, indicates that whether such a correlation exists varies across insurance markets and pools of insurance policies. We discuss various reasons why a coverage–risk correlation may not be found in some pools of insurance policies. The presence of a coverage–risk correlation can be explained either by moral hazard or adverse selection, and we discuss methods for distinguishing between them. Finally, we review the evidence on learning by policyholders and insurers.     

保险公司业绩评价:从财务绩效到战略执行

企业业绩评价模式大致经历了财务导向模式、经济价值(内含价值)导向模式和战略执行(平衡计分)评价模式的演变,本文通过对以上三种模式的在保险公司运用的研究,分析了不同评价模式的在保险公司应用的演进脉络与评价重点,提出了按评价目标需求出发的整合评价模式是最佳业绩评价实践的观点.     

Cream Skimming: Innovations in Insurance Risk Classification and Adverse Selection

We demonstrate how innovations in insurance risk classification can lead to adverse selection, or cream skimming, against insurers that are slow to adopt such pricing innovations. Using a model in which insurers with insufficient pricing data cannot differentiate between low‐ and high‐risk policyholders and therefore charge both the same premium, we show how innovative insurers develop new risk classification data to identify overcharged low‐risk policyholders and attract them from rival insurers with reduced prices. Less innovative insurers thus insure a growing percentage of high‐risk customers, resulting in adverse selection attributable to their informational disadvantage. Next, we examine two cases in which “Big Data” innovations in risk classification led to concerns about cream skimming among U.S. auto insurers. First, we track the rapid adoption of credit‐based insurance scores as pricing variables in personal auto insurance markets. Second, we examine the growing popularity of usage‐based insurance programs like telematics, plans in which insurers use data on policyholders’ actual driving behavior to set prices that attract low‐risk customers. Issues associated with the execution of such pricing strategies are discussed. In both cases, we document how rival insurers quickly adopt successful innovations to reduce their exposure to adverse selection.     

论商事实践张力与法律文本抑制间的博弈——以保险经纪人双方代理法律地位为视角

我国保险法规定保险经纪人基于投保人利益开展经营活动,学术界的观点也寓于此规定。而实践中,已出现保险经纪人代表保险人从事保险事务的情形,形成双方代理。现有制度和理论已不能有效解决这一问题。须立足商事实践、借鉴国外法经验对保险经纪人的法律地位作重新定位。对保险经纪人的法律地位应采用综合说,现行保险法律制度也应作适当调整。     

Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Impact of Natural Disasters and Regulation on U.S. Property Insurers’ Supply Decisions

In this article, we identify the main factors that drive insurers’ willingness to offer coverage in catastrophe‐prone property insurance lines. We compare insurers’ supply decisions in personal and commercial lines, with an emphasis on insurers’ responses in the aftermath of natural disasters. Our empirical results suggest important policy implications with regard to improving the availability of insurance against catastrophic threats. Concerning the impact of regulatory constraints, we present empirical evidence that certain regulatory responses may unintentionally impede insurers’ willingness to provide coverage against natural disasters.     

共同代理框架下工程保险技术服务的机制设计

本文从试图克服工程保险发展的技术障碍入手,提出由业主和保险人共同委托监理机构提供工程保险技术服务的共同代理模型,并从任务之间的关联性、任务的难易程度对模型结果进行了研究,得出保险人必须要与业主共谋是最优策略的结论,会导致最有效率的产出。     

The Capital Structure of Firms Subject to Price Regulation: Evidence from the Insurance Industry

Automobile and workers' compensation insurance are relatively homogeneous products sold under varying regulatory systems among the states. This paper investigates how price regulation affects the capital structure decisions of profit-maximizing insurers who sell insurance in both competitive and/or regulated markets. Specifically, we test the hypothesis that insurers subject to price regulation will choose to hold less capital. In addition, we hypothesize insurers subject to more stringent regulatory pricing constraints will choose even higher degrees of leverage because the benefits of holding additional amounts of capital are suppressed. We conduct empirical tests using cross-sectional data on insurers and find evidence consistent with both hypotheses. These findings have important implications for insurance price and solvency regulation. Stricter price regulation increases the default risk (i.e., reduces the financial quality) of insurance contracts purchased by individuals and firms.     

Systemic risk and diversification across European banks and insurers

The mutual and cross company exposures to fat-tail distributed risks determine the potential impact of a financial crisis on banks and insurers. We examine the systemic interdependencies within and across the European banking and insurance sectors during times of stress by means of extreme value analysis. While insurers exhibit a slightly higher interdependency in comparison with banks, the interdependency across the two sectors turns out to be considerably lower. This suggests that downside risk can be lowered through financial conglomeration.     

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.     

The Determinants of Private Debt Holdings: Evidence From the Life Insurance Industry

Life insurers hold the majority of private debt. Lenders in the private debt market must have the ability to evaluate the credit quality of borrowers and to perform ongoing risk monitoring. The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of private debt holdings in the life insurance industry. The results suggest that larger insurers, insurers with higher financial quality, mutual insurers, publicly traded insurers, insurers facing stringent regulation, and insurers with greater cash holdings are more prevalent lenders in the private debt market.     

Insurance Markets With Differential Information

This article attempts to understand the outcomes when each party of an insurance contract simultaneously has superior information. I assume that policyholders have superior information about specific risks while insurers have superior information about general risks. I find that low-general-risk policyholders purchase insurance, while high-general-risk policyholders are self-insured. Among the low-general-risk policyholders, high-specific-risk policyholders purchase full insurance, while low-specific-risk policyholders purchase partial insurance. When insurers can strategically publicize their information, efficiency is improved because high-general-risk policyholders purchase actuarially fair insurance. The market segmentation is also found based on the general-risk type and the publicizing of information.