We examine the performance-effects of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) co-opted boards in United Kin... more We examine the performance-effects of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) co-opted boards in United Kingdom (UK) property-casualty insurers. We report that board insiders appointed in the aftermath of CEO succession reduce profitability, but bolster solvency. Enhanced solvency also results when the CEO is a financial expert and when proportionately more inside directors are selected by a CEO who is a financial expert. We further find enhanced profitability-effects for insurance experienced co-opted outside directors, while large investors improve solvency. However, the internal or external origin of the CEO does not affect financial outcomes. We consider that our results could have commercial and/or public policy implications.
Purpose – The purpose of this study was to, using a case study research design informed by organi... more Purpose – The purpose of this study was to, using a case study research design informed by organizational economics theory, to examine the prospects for micro-insurance in promoting micro-credit in a low-income Anglophone country in sub-Saharan Africa – The Gambia. Two main research questions are addressed: first, what is the most appropriate micro-finance institution (MFI) organizational structure to maximize the economic benefits of micro-insurance? Second, what are the financial management and wider economic benefits of the use of micro-insurance by MFIs? Design/methodology/approach – To address our two research questions, we used a semi-structured interview protocol, informed by the organizational economics literature, to interpret the data collected from our field cases. We believe that these intrinsic qualities of case study methodology are particularly apt in the present study, given the complex and emergent nature of micro-finance and micro-insurance in low-income countries ...
Mutual and stock insurers have coexisted and competed against each other in insurance markets for... more Mutual and stock insurers have coexisted and competed against each other in insurance markets for centuries. In this article, we examine the risk management strategies and underwriting profitability of the different organizational forms in Sweden's property fire insurance market between 1903 and 1939. We demonstrate that stock insurers acted as intermediaries between policyholders and reinsurers to operate effectively in the potentially high-risk segments of the fire insurance market. In contrast, nationwide mutual insurers kept larger reserves to balance fluctuations in claims experiences, while local insurance pools relied on social obligation and trust to mobilize capital after adverse fire events.
Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 2008
Using a unique insurance dataset for a sample of Chinese publicly listed companies for the period... more Using a unique insurance dataset for a sample of Chinese publicly listed companies for the period 1997 through 2003, this study tests the simultaneous linkages between debt capacity, cost of debt, and corporate property insurance. Our results suggest that, on the one hand, a higher cost of debt appears to motivate the use of more property insurance, but high leverage alone does not lead to the purchase of more property insurance. The latter finding might reflect the unique institutional setting of China, for example, where there is a low chanceof legally enforced company liquidation. Also, there is evidence that leverage can interact with tangible assets intensity and exert a positive conjoint effect on the corporate purchase ofproperty insurance. On the other hand, we find evidence that supports that property insurance helps expand insuring firms' debt capacity and helps lower their borrowing costs. However, themoderate evidence on the cost reduction effect suggests that loweri...
We employ a panel data research design to examine the determinants of investment returns in the S... more We employ a panel data research design to examine the determinants of investment returns in the Swedish property fire insurance industry from 1903 to 1939 – a period of great economic and political uncertainty. Contrary to expectations, we find that mutual fire insurers generated systematically higher investment returns than stock fire insurers. Investment returns are inversely related to leverage but positively related to liquidity, showing that firms adopting a more precautionary investment strategy attain higher returns.
We examine the performance-effects of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) co-opted boards in United Kin... more We examine the performance-effects of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) co-opted boards in United Kingdom (UK) property-casualty insurers. We report that board insiders appointed in the aftermath of CEO succession reduce profitability, but bolster solvency. Enhanced solvency also results when the CEO is a financial expert and when proportionately more inside directors are selected by a CEO who is a financial expert. We further find enhanced profitability-effects for insurance experienced co-opted outside directors, while large investors improve solvency. However, the internal or external origin of the CEO does not affect financial outcomes. We consider that our results could have commercial and/or public policy implications.
Purpose – The purpose of this study was to, using a case study research design informed by organi... more Purpose – The purpose of this study was to, using a case study research design informed by organizational economics theory, to examine the prospects for micro-insurance in promoting micro-credit in a low-income Anglophone country in sub-Saharan Africa – The Gambia. Two main research questions are addressed: first, what is the most appropriate micro-finance institution (MFI) organizational structure to maximize the economic benefits of micro-insurance? Second, what are the financial management and wider economic benefits of the use of micro-insurance by MFIs? Design/methodology/approach – To address our two research questions, we used a semi-structured interview protocol, informed by the organizational economics literature, to interpret the data collected from our field cases. We believe that these intrinsic qualities of case study methodology are particularly apt in the present study, given the complex and emergent nature of micro-finance and micro-insurance in low-income countries ...
Mutual and stock insurers have coexisted and competed against each other in insurance markets for... more Mutual and stock insurers have coexisted and competed against each other in insurance markets for centuries. In this article, we examine the risk management strategies and underwriting profitability of the different organizational forms in Sweden's property fire insurance market between 1903 and 1939. We demonstrate that stock insurers acted as intermediaries between policyholders and reinsurers to operate effectively in the potentially high-risk segments of the fire insurance market. In contrast, nationwide mutual insurers kept larger reserves to balance fluctuations in claims experiences, while local insurance pools relied on social obligation and trust to mobilize capital after adverse fire events.
Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 2008
Using a unique insurance dataset for a sample of Chinese publicly listed companies for the period... more Using a unique insurance dataset for a sample of Chinese publicly listed companies for the period 1997 through 2003, this study tests the simultaneous linkages between debt capacity, cost of debt, and corporate property insurance. Our results suggest that, on the one hand, a higher cost of debt appears to motivate the use of more property insurance, but high leverage alone does not lead to the purchase of more property insurance. The latter finding might reflect the unique institutional setting of China, for example, where there is a low chanceof legally enforced company liquidation. Also, there is evidence that leverage can interact with tangible assets intensity and exert a positive conjoint effect on the corporate purchase ofproperty insurance. On the other hand, we find evidence that supports that property insurance helps expand insuring firms' debt capacity and helps lower their borrowing costs. However, themoderate evidence on the cost reduction effect suggests that loweri...
We employ a panel data research design to examine the determinants of investment returns in the S... more We employ a panel data research design to examine the determinants of investment returns in the Swedish property fire insurance industry from 1903 to 1939 – a period of great economic and political uncertainty. Contrary to expectations, we find that mutual fire insurers generated systematically higher investment returns than stock fire insurers. Investment returns are inversely related to leverage but positively related to liquidity, showing that firms adopting a more precautionary investment strategy attain higher returns.
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