IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/insuma/v113y2023icp24-49.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Equilibria and efficiency in a reinsurance market

Author

Listed:
  • Zhu, Michael B.
  • Ghossoub, Mario
  • Boonen, Tim J.

Abstract

We study equilibria in a reinsurance market with multiple reinsurers that are endowed with heterogeneous beliefs, where preferences are given by distortion risk measures, and pricing is done via Choquet integrals. We construct a model in the form of a sequential economic game, where the reinsurers have the first-mover advantage over the insurer, as in the Stackelberg setting. However, unlike the Stackelberg setting, which assumes a single monopolistic reinsurer on the supply side, our model accounts for strategic price competition between reinsurers. We argue that the notion of a Subgame Perfect Nash Equilibrium (SPNE) is the appropriate solution concept for analyzing equilibria in the reinsurance market, and we characterize SPNEs using a set of sufficient conditions. We then examine efficiency properties of the contracts induced by an SPNE, and show that these contracts result in Pareto-efficient allocations. Additionally, we show that under mild conditions, the insurer realizes a strict welfare gain, which addresses the concerns of Boonen and Ghossoub (2022) with the Stackelberg model and thereby ultimately reflects the benefit to the insurer of competition on the supply side. We illustrate this point with a numerical example.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhu, Michael B. & Ghossoub, Mario & Boonen, Tim J., 2023. "Equilibria and efficiency in a reinsurance market," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 24-49.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:insuma:v:113:y:2023:i:c:p:24-49
    DOI: 10.1016/j.insmatheco.2023.07.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016766872300063X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.insmatheco.2023.07.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liang, Zhihang & Zou, Jushen & Jiang, Wenjun, 2022. "Revisiting the optimal insurance design under adverse selection: Distortion risk measures and tail-risk overestimation," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 200-221.
    2. Chen, Lv & Shen, Yang, 2018. "On A New Paradigm Of Optimal Reinsurance: A Stochastic Stackelberg Differential Game Between An Insurer And A Reinsurer," ASTIN Bulletin, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(2), pages 905-960, May.
    3. Cao, Jingyi & Li, Dongchen & Young, Virginia R. & Zou, Bin, 2022. "Stackelberg differential game for insurance under model ambiguity," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 128-145.
    4. Balbás, Alejandro & Balbás, Beatriz & Balbás, Raquel & Heras, Antonio, 2022. "Risk transference constraints in optimal reinsurance," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 27-40.
    5. Boonen, Tim J., 2015. "Competitive Equilibria With Distortion Risk Measures," ASTIN Bulletin, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(3), pages 703-728, September.
    6. Paul Embrechts & Haiyan Liu & Tiantian Mao & Ruodu Wang, 2017. "Quantile-Based Risk Sharing with Heterogeneous Beliefs," Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper Series 17-65, Swiss Finance Institute, revised Jan 2018.
    7. Chan, Fung-Yee & Gerber, Hans U., 1985. "The Reinsurer's Monopoly and the Bowley Solution," ASTIN Bulletin, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(2), pages 141-148, November.
    8. Wang, Shaun S. & Young, Virginia R. & Panjer, Harry H., 1997. "Axiomatic characterization of insurance prices," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 173-183, November.
    9. Tim J. Boonen & Fangda Liu & Ruodu Wang, 2021. "Competitive equilibria in a comonotone market," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 72(4), pages 1217-1255, November.
    10. Cheung, Ka Chun & Yam, Sheung Chi Phillip & Zhang, Yiying, 2019. "Risk-adjusted Bowley reinsurance under distorted probabilities," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 64-72.
    11. Asimit, Vali & Boonen, Tim J., 2018. "Insurance with multiple insurers: A game-theoretic approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 267(2), pages 778-790.
    12. Guillaume Carlier & Rose-Anne Dana, 2003. "Pareto efficient insurance contracts when the insurer's cost function is discontinuous," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 21(4), pages 871-893, June.
    13. Assa, Hirbod, 2015. "On optimal reinsurance policy with distortion risk measures and premiums," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 70-75.
    14. Boonen, Tim J. & Ghossoub, Mario, 2021. "Optimal reinsurance with multiple reinsurers: Distortion risk measures, distortion premium principles, and heterogeneous beliefs," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(PA), pages 23-37.
    15. Martin J. Osborne & Ariel Rubinstein, 1994. "A Course in Game Theory," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262650401, April.
    16. Zhuang, Sheng Chao & Weng, Chengguo & Tan, Ken Seng & Assa, Hirbod, 2016. "Marginal Indemnification Function formulation for optimal reinsurance," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 65-76.
    17. Boonen, Tim J. & Tan, Ken Seng & Zhuang, Sheng Chao, 2021. "Optimal reinsurance with multiple reinsurers: Competitive pricing and coalition stability," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(PB), pages 302-319.
    18. Aase, Knut K., 1993. "Equilibrium in a Reinsurance Syndicate; Existence, Uniqueness and Characterization," ASTIN Bulletin, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(2), pages 185-211, November.
    19. repec:dau:papers:123456789/5394 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Raviv, Artur, 1979. "The Design of an Optimal Insurance Policy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 69(1), pages 84-96, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zongxia Liang & Xiaodong Luo, 2024. "Stackelberg reinsurance and premium decisions with MV criterion and irreversibility," Papers 2402.11580, arXiv.org.
    2. Mario Ghossoub & Michael B. Zhu & Wing Fung Chong, 2024. "Pareto-Optimal Peer-to-Peer Risk Sharing with Robust Distortion Risk Measures," Papers 2409.05103, arXiv.org.
    3. Ghossoub, Mario & Zhu, Michael B., 2024. "Stackelberg equilibria with multiple policyholders," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 189-201.
    4. Xuelian Li & Shiu-Chieh Chiu & Jyh-Horng Lin & Yuxin Xie, 2024. "Assessing insurer guarantee cover and risk retention toward SDG 3: a structure-break down-and-out call valuation," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Boonen, Tim J. & Ghossoub, Mario, 2023. "Bowley vs. Pareto optima in reinsurance contracting," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 307(1), pages 382-391.
    2. Ghossoub, Mario & Zhu, Michael B., 2024. "Stackelberg equilibria with multiple policyholders," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 189-201.
    3. Mario Ghossoub & Michael B. Zhu & Wing Fung Chong, 2024. "Pareto-Optimal Peer-to-Peer Risk Sharing with Robust Distortion Risk Measures," Papers 2409.05103, arXiv.org.
    4. Jiang, Wenjun & Hong, Hanping & Ren, Jiandong, 2021. "Pareto-optimal reinsurance policies with maximal synergy," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 185-198.
    5. Anthropelos, Michail & Boonen, Tim J., 2020. "Nash equilibria in optimal reinsurance bargaining," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 196-205.
    6. Cao, Jingyi & Li, Dongchen & Young, Virginia R. & Zou, Bin, 2023. "Reinsurance games with two reinsurers: Tree versus chain," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 310(2), pages 928-941.
    7. Boonen, Tim J. & Jiang, Wenjun, 2022. "Bilateral risk sharing in a comonotone market with rank-dependent utilities," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 361-378.
    8. Chi, Yichun & Tan, Ken Seng & Zhuang, Sheng Chao, 2020. "A Bowley solution with limited ceded risk for a monopolistic reinsurer," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 188-201.
    9. Boonen, Tim J. & Jiang, Wenjun, 2022. "A marginal indemnity function approach to optimal reinsurance under the Vajda condition," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 303(2), pages 928-944.
    10. Tim J. Boonen & Yuyu Chen & Xia Han & Qiuqi Wang, 2024. "Optimal insurance design with Lambda-Value-at-Risk," Papers 2408.09799, arXiv.org.
    11. Boonen, Tim J. & Jiang, Wenjun, 2024. "Robust insurance design with distortion risk measures," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 316(2), pages 694-706.
    12. Cheung, Ka Chun & Yam, Sheung Chi Phillip & Zhang, Yiying, 2019. "Risk-adjusted Bowley reinsurance under distorted probabilities," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 64-72.
    13. Birghila, Corina & Pflug, Georg Ch., 2019. "Optimal XL-insurance under Wasserstein-type ambiguity," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 30-43.
    14. Gabriela Zeller & Matthias Scherer, 2023. "Risk mitigation services in cyber insurance: optimal contract design and price structure," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 48(2), pages 502-547, April.
    15. Corina Birghila & Tim J. Boonen & Mario Ghossoub, 2023. "Optimal insurance under maxmin expected utility," Finance and Stochastics, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 467-501, April.
    16. Ghossoub, Mario & Jiang, Wenjun & Ren, Jiandong, 2022. "Pareto-optimal reinsurance under individual risk constraints," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 307-325.
    17. Cheung, Ka Chun & Phillip Yam, Sheung Chi & Yuen, Fei Lung & Zhang, Yiying, 2020. "Concave distortion risk minimizing reinsurance design under adverse selection," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 155-165.
    18. Asimit, Alexandru V. & Boonen, Tim J. & Chi, Yichun & Chong, Wing Fung, 2021. "Risk sharing with multiple indemnity environments," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 295(2), pages 587-603.
    19. Cheung, Ka Chun & He, Wanting & Wang, He, 2023. "Multi-constrained optimal reinsurance model from the duality perspectives," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 199-214.
    20. Tim J. Boonen & Fangda Liu & Ruodu Wang, 2021. "Competitive equilibria in a comonotone market," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 72(4), pages 1217-1255, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Optimal reinsurance; Bowley optima; Stackelberg equilibria; Subgame perfect Nash equilibria; Pareto efficiency; Choquet pricing; Heterogeneous beliefs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C02 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - General - - - Mathematical Economics
    • C62 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Existence and Stability Conditions of Equilibrium
    • C79 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Other
    • D86 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Economics of Contract Law
    • G22 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:insuma:v:113:y:2023:i:c:p:24-49. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505554 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.