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The sensitivity of life insurance firms to interest rate changes

Author

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  • Kyal Berends
  • Robert McMenamin
  • Thanases Plestis
  • Richard J. Rosen

Abstract

The authors examine the interest rate risk of life insurers by estimating the sensitivity of their stock returns to changes in the return on bonds over a time frame that includes a relatively calm period before the recent financial crisis, the financial crisis itself, and the recent period of low interest rates. They find that when bonds increase in value (that is, when interest rates fall), stocks of large insurance firms decrease in value more than those of their smaller counterparts.

Suggested Citation

  • Kyal Berends & Robert McMenamin & Thanases Plestis & Richard J. Rosen, 2013. "The sensitivity of life insurance firms to interest rate changes," Economic Perspectives, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, vol. 37(Q II), pages 47-78.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedhep:y:2013:i:qii:p:47-78:n:v.37no.2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Flannery, Mark J & James, Christopher M, 1984. "The Effect of Interest Rate Changes on the Common Stock Returns of Financial Institutions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(4), pages 1141-1153, September.
    2. Elijah Brewer & James M. Carson & Elyas Elyasiani & Iqbal Mansur & William L. Scott, 2007. "Interest Rate Risk and Equity Values of Life Insurance Companies: A GARCH–M Model," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 74(2), pages 401-423, June.
    3. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February.
    4. James M. Poterba, 1997. "The History of Annuities in the United States," NBER Working Papers 6001, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. James M. Carson & Elyas Elyasiani & Iqbal Mansur, 2008. "Market Risk, Interest Rate Risk, and Interdependencies in Insurer Stock Returns: A System‐GARCH Model," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 75(4), pages 873-891, December.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Kubitza, Christian & Grochola, Nicolaus & Gründl, Helmut, 2021. "Life insurance convexity," ICIR Working Paper Series 42/21, Goethe University Frankfurt, International Center for Insurance Regulation (ICIR).
    2. Donaldson, Jason Roderick & Piacentino, Giorgia, 2018. "Contracting to compete for flows," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 289-319.
    3. Grochola, Nicolaus & Schlütter, Sebastian, 2023. "Discretionary decisions in capital requirements under Solvency II," ICIR Working Paper Series 50/23, Goethe University Frankfurt, International Center for Insurance Regulation (ICIR).
    4. Grochola, Nicolaus & Browne, Mark Joseph & Gründl, Helmut & Schlütter, Sebastian, 2021. "Exploring the market risk profiles of U.S. and European life insurers," ICIR Working Paper Series 39/21, Goethe University Frankfurt, International Center for Insurance Regulation (ICIR).
    5. Grochola, Nicolaus, 2023. "The influence of negative interest rates on life insurance companies," ICIR Working Paper Series 53/23, Goethe University Frankfurt, International Center for Insurance Regulation (ICIR).
    6. Kirti, Divya, 2024. "When gambling for resurrection is too risky," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    7. Liu, Hui-Hsuan & Chang, Ariana & Shiu, Yung-Ming, 2020. "Interest rate derivatives and risk exposure: Evidence from the life insurance industry," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    8. Axel Möhlmann, 2021. "Interest rate risk of life insurers: Evidence from accounting data," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 50(2), pages 587-612, June.
    9. Mariya Gubareva, 2018. "Historical Interest Rate Sensitivity of Emerging Market Sovereign Debt: Evidence of Regime Dependent Behavior," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 19(2), pages 405-442, November.
    10. Flores, Eduardo & de Carvalho, João Vinicius França & Sampaio, Joelson Oliveira, 2021. "Impact of interest rates on the life insurance market development: Cross-country evidence," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    11. Ching-Yuan Hsiao & Yung-Ming Shiu, 2019. "The effects of business mix on internal and external reinsurance usage," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 44(4), pages 624-652, October.
    12. Dionne, Georges & Fenou, Akouété & Mnasri, Mohamed, 2024. "Insurers’ M&A in the United States during the 1990-2022 period: Is the Fed monetary policy a causal factor," Working Papers 24-2, HEC Montreal, Canada Research Chair in Risk Management, revised 16 Jul 2024.
    13. Focarelli, Dario, 2017. "Why Insurance Regulation is Crucial for Long-term Investment and Economic Growth," LEAP Working Papers 2017/1, Luiss Institute for European Analysis and Policy.

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    Keywords

    Life insurance companies; Interest rates;

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