Organizational Structure,Board Composition,and Risk Taking in the U.S. Property Casualty Insurance Industry |
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| Authors: | Chia‐Ling Ho Gene C Lai Jin‐Ping Lee |
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| Institution: | Chia‐Ling Ho is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Insurance, Tamkang University, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Gene C. Lai is the Safeco Distinguished Professor of Insurance at the Department of Finance and Management Science, Washington State University. Jin‐Ping Lee is a Professor at the Department of Finance, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan. The authors can be contacted via e‐mail: genelai@wsu.edu. The authors appreciate the valuable comments from two anonymous reviewers. |
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| Abstract: | This study examines the impact of organizational structure and board composition on risk taking in the U.S. property casualty insurance industry, addressing different risk‐taking behaviors from different perspectives. The risk‐taking measures include total risk, underwriting risk, investment risk, and leverage risk. The evidence shows that mutual insurers have lower total risk, underwriting risk, and investment risk than stock insurers. In terms of board composition variables, we find that some board composition variables not only have impact on risk‐taking behaviors but also affect different risk measures differently. Thus, using different risk measures is better than using one risk measure to assess risk‐taking behavior. Finally, we conclude that an insurer can control its total risk through management of underwriting, investment, and leverage risks that determine an insurer's risk profile. |
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