Die Marktabgrenzung im Versicherungskartellrecht am Beispiel der Berufshaftpflichtversicherungen

The definition of the relevant market is crucial to the application of European and German competition law and especially difficult when dealing with insurance markets. Generally, the product and geographic market comprises all products or services that are regarded as substitutable by consumers. In addition, the supply-side substitutability can be taken into consideration. In defining insurance product markets, the supply-side substitutability is decisive, because insurance products are seldom interchangeable from a policy holder’s point of view. Applying the concept of supply-side substitutability to professional indemnity insurances leads to product markets correlating with the different professional groups: Indemnity insurances for physicians constitute a product market; insurances for lawyers, notary publics, tax advisers and public accountants form another market and insurances for architects and construction engineers another one. These product markets are still national markets. Professional indemnity insurances are extensively shaped by the differing legal systems, namely by national insurance contract law, by liability provisions and by a legal obligation to insure. Consequently, policy holders cannot substitute their indemnity insurance with foreign insurance products and insurers are confronted with market entry barriers. However, the proposed directive on services on the internal market and the adopted directive on insurance mediation could result in community-wide markets in the near future.     

Versicherung von Risiken HIV-infizierter Menschen und Gleichbehandlungsrecht

The article deals with the impact of the German Equal Treatment Law on the insurance of risks related to a HIV positive person. The infection has to be qualified as a disability but differentiations in insurance contracts are usually justifiable. In addition normally there is no unlawful treatment with regard to sexual identity. Even so the insurer has several options to avoid any conflict with HIV positive persons.     

Ein Regressionsmodell zur sparten- bzw. marktbezogenen Analyse der Eigenkapitalkosten von Unternehmen am Beispiel der Versicherungsbranche

In this paper we present a regression model which is fitted in the cost of equity of stock market companies. In this way we can estimate the cost of equity for companies which are not listed on the stock market based on the weights of line of business and market. Thus the cost of equity used for a value based management of strategic business units can be derived on the basis of these economic parameters. The theoretical model is introduced in a general setting for companies of any industry sectors. Then the model is applied to the insurance sector based on the lines of business Life and Non-life as well as on markets for Germany, Europe and the United States of America.     

Indirekte Immobilienanlagen im Portfoliomanagement am Beispiel des deutschen Marktes

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Vergleich von ökonomischen und biometrischen Risiken in der Personenversicherung

In life insurance both the time and the amount of future payments between insurer and policyholder may be stochastic; biometrical as well as financial risks are transferred to the insurer. We present an approach that allows to decompose the randomness of the discounted value of future benefits and premiums to a sum whose addends correspond to the uncertainty of the policy development, the interest rates, the probabilities of death, the probabilities of disablement, etc. Upon modeling the actuarial assumptions stochastically, we quantify these risk factors for typical life insurance contracts and compare them with each other. Contrary to a common folklore, the examples show that the systematic biometrical risks are in many cases not marginal compared to the interest rate risk.     

Einfluss der Balanced-Scorecard-Werteparameter auf den Unternehmenswert in einem Regressionsmodell am Beispiel der Versicherungsbranche

In this paper we analyse the importance of the balanced scorecard parameters for the company value. Thus the relevance of the balanced scorecard parameters for the economic success of the company can be accurately quantified. Furthermore optimal value based management rules can be derived. The regression model is thereby defined for companies of any industry sector and then applied for a company of the insurance sector. The importance of the balanced scorecard parameters is estimated using the maximum likelihood method. The parameters are analysed with respect to their statistical significance. Classical and generalized linear regression models are applied. As the result the management can identify the most relevant parameters of the balanced scorecard and manage the company on the basis of these value drivers.     

Schöne Aussicht auf den Fluss? Wahrnehmung von Risiken aus Naturkatastrophen

Impacts of natural disasters have increased worldwide during the last decades. Facing the growing losses from natural hazards also in Germany, the question emerges how persons in likely affected areas perceive risks from natural hazards such as windstorm, flood, and earthquake. The everyday, ?intuitive“ perception of risks is basic for the individual, subjective assessment of natural risks. Consequently, perception and evaluation of risk is basic for behaviour in dangerous situations. It is also fundamental for decisions concerning preventive protective measurements. To be able to develop effective information and communication strategies and politics about natural risks, the perception and evaluation of these risks and influencing factors should be known. Therefore, the purpose of the study presented in this paper is to focus on the perception of storms, floods, and earthquakes and to study factors that influence risk perception. To study risk perception, a mail survey was conducted in summer 2001 in six regions of Germany which had been affected by windstorm, flood and / or earthquake within the last 30 years. Köln-Rodenkirchen, Passau, Karlsruhe, Neustadt/Donau, Albstadt and Rosenheim were selected as survey areas. In total, 450 persons responded the questionnaire. In the study a mixture of approaches to risk perception was applied, among them the psychometric paradigm. The project was conducted at the Institute for Insurance, Universität Karlsruhe (TH) and additionally funded by the Stiftung Umwelt und Schadenvorsorge der SV Versicherungen. The results show that storm, flood, and earthquake are rated heteroge-neously regarding their general dangerousness, several risk characteristics and attributions of causes. Personal characteristics, such as age, education level, and the experience of damage seem to play a role for the general risk rating. In addition, the risk perception of homeowners and tenants differs.     

Die Versicherungsnachfrage von Unternehmen: Eine Empirische Untersuchung der Sachversicherungsnachfrage deutscher Unternehmen

This article presents the results of an empirical analysis regarding the corporate demand for insurance. As several studies before tested the theoretical arguments for the corporate motivation to purchase insurance, this article provides the fist empirical analysis focussing on the insurance demand of German corporations. The empirical evidence, found in the data of corporate clients of a German insurance company, supports the hypotheses regarding the relation between the demand for insurance and the size of the corporation, insolvency costs and real services of the insurer as well as the influence of the ownership structure of a stock corporation. Conflicting results were found regarding regulation.     

Wann lohnt sich die Beschaffung zusätzlicher Informationen? Darstellung des Entscheidungsproblems und der Ermittlung des Wertes von Informationen am Beispiel des Kalküls einer Versicherung

Insurance companies decide on refusal or acceptance (and in this case: the conditions) of a potential policyholder. This paper deals with the question whether the use of genetic testing is advantageous or not. Insurance companies have to consider costs and benefits of the additional information gained by genetic testing. The science of economics, in particular decision theory, helps investigating how insurance companies are able to optimize their outcomes. This paper deals with relevant basics of decision theory and solves the problem by making use of Jakob Marschak’s approach of information economics. The value of additional information attainable from genetic testing is calculated and integrated in the decision process of an insurance company. In doing so, the model is applied to the hemochromatosis disease. Nevertheless, the model is demonstrated in a general manner. It should be easy to adapt the approach to other illness syndromes, medical checkups or medical decision problems.     

Eine goldene Regel für die Modellierung von Daten zur Erstellung von Data-Mining-Klassifikationsmodellen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von Problemstellungen in der Versicherungswirtschaft

A golden rule for data modelling for data mining classification models with special considerations of problems in insurances. To create classification models to avoid contract cancellations and for cross selling purposes to be used in marketing and sales of insurance companies the necessary data modelling will be discussed. Starting from a binary classification variable — cancelled contracts and active contracts, customers of a branch and non-customers of a branch — we in particular focus on the importance of historical data: To be able to detect decision patterns for cancellations respectively for new contracts in the data with the help of data mining tools, it is necessary for such contracts respectively customers not to use actual data, but data as they were at the time of decision. This obvious, but rarely used principle, is presented in detail as a golden rule for correct data modelling in such situations. As a case study a project and results for nine branches in each case of the Gothaer Versicherungen is presented.     

Deutsche Pensionsfonds: Eine empirische Analyse

On January 1, 2002 the Altersvermögensgesetz went in force which established the Pensionsfonds as an additional form of organization providing company pension plans. This law includes very few restrictions on Pen-sionsfonds’ pension products and investments. To explore this new market for company pension plans empirically, the Institut für Versicherungswissenschaft at the University of Cologne conducted a comprehensive survey among the German Pensionsfonds. This article presents selected results of an ongoing research project. In our analysis, here, we focus on the pension products offered by the Pensionsfonds, their asset liability management, and their business strategies.     

Die demographische Zeitbombe an den Börsen: Das Beispiel Deutschland

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Versicherungsbetrug als ökonomisches Problem: Eine vertragstheoretische Analyse

Fraudulent claims are a well-known phenomenon and a serious problem in some insurance markets. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First of all, it explains why insurance fraud can be considered as a contractual problem. Consequently, selected instruments to fight insurance fraud and problems concerning the punishment of detected defrauders are analyzed by using existing results of contract theory.