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Regulation and efficiency in European insurance markets

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  • Ray Rees
  • Ekkehard Kessner

Abstract

Summary European insurance markets Regulation and efficiencyWith a series of directives completed in 1994 the European Commission tried to open and harmonize national European insurance markets. This has led to considerable deregulation in several countries. This paper surveys pre-1994 regulation in Germany and the UK and the Commission’s policy. It argues that it is unlikely that the policy will have a significant impact on direct international competition between European insurance markets, until there is standardization of insurance law. However, the tightly regulated markets will become more like the loosely regulated UK market. The paper evaluates this outcome and concludes that the European Commission’s policy may thereby have improved the welfare of insurance buyers in the previously highly regulated countries such as Germany. The paper also uses efficiency-frontier estimation to compare the dispersion of firm efficiencies in the German and British life insurance market. The results support the hypothesis that tighter solvency regulation allows the survival of a larger proportion of higher-cost firms.— Ray Rees and Ekkehard Kessner

Suggested Citation

  • Ray Rees & Ekkehard Kessner, 1999. "Regulation and efficiency in European insurance markets," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 14(29), pages 364-397.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ecpoli:v:14:y:1999:i:29:p:364-397.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/1468-0327.00053
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    Cited by:

    1. Huck, Steffen & Konrad, Kai A. & Muller, Wieland, 2001. "Divisionalization in contests," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 89-93, January.
    2. Trigo Gamarra, Lucinda, 2008. "The effects of liberalization and deregulation on the performance of financial institutions: The case of the German life insurance market," Thuenen-Series of Applied Economic Theory 93, University of Rostock, Institute of Economics.
    3. Hickson, Allister, 2006. "Motor vehicle insurance rating with pseudo emissions coverage," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 146-159, June.
    4. Jost, Peter-J. & van der Velden, Claus, 2008. "Organizational design of R&D after mergers and the role of budget responsibility," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 60(5), pages 469-484.
    5. Mohammad Nourani & Qian Long Kweh & Evelyn Shyamala Devadason & V.G.R. Chandran, 2020. "A decomposition analysis of managerial efficiency for the insurance companies: A data envelopment analysis approach," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(6), pages 885-901, September.
    6. Pervan Maja & Ćurak Marijana & Kramarić Tomislava Pavić, 2021. "Has Accession to the European Union Affected the Efficiency of Croatian Insurance Companies?," Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 24(1), pages 67-98.
    7. Jost, Peter-J., 2011. "Joint ventures in patent contests with spillovers and the role of strategic budgeting," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 63(6), pages 605-637.
    8. Martin Eling & Thomas Parnitzke, 2007. "Dynamic Financial Analysis: Classification, Conception, and Implementation," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 10(1), pages 33-50, March.
    9. Konrad, Kai A. & Thum, Marcel, 2012. "The role of economic policy in climate change adaptation," EIB Working Papers 2012/02, European Investment Bank (EIB).
    10. Milton Nektarios & Panos Xenos & George Nektarios & Kostas Poulakis & Michalis Chouzouris, 2015. "Efficiency Analysis of Lloyd’s Syndicates: A Comparison of DEA and SFA Approaches," SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, University of Piraeus, vol. 65(1-2), pages 27-46, January-M.
    11. Subramanian, Ajay & Wang, Jinjing, 2021. "Capital, aggregate risk, insurance prices and regulation," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 156-192.
    12. Kesternich, Iris & Schumacher, Heiner, 2009. "On the Use of Information in Repeated Insurance Markets," Discussion Paper Series of SFB/TR 15 Governance and the Efficiency of Economic Systems 280, Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Bonn, University of Mannheim, University of Munich.
    13. Deborah Mabbett, 2014. "Polanyi in Brussels or Luxembourg? Social rights and market regulation in European insurance," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(2), pages 186-202, June.
    14. Mälkönen, Ville, 2004. "Capital adequacy regulation and financial conglomerates," Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers 10/2004, Bank of Finland.
    15. Arjen van der Heide & Sebastian Kohl, 2024. "Private Insurance, Public Welfare, and Financial Markets: Alpine and Maritime Countries in Comparative-Historical Perspective," Politics & Society, , vol. 52(2), pages 268-303, June.
    16. Khan, Atiquzzafar & Noreen, Uzma, 2014. "Efficiency Measure of Insurance v/s Tak ful Firms Using DEA Approach: A Case of Pakistan," Islamic Economic Studies, The Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), vol. 22, pages 139-158.
    17. Holopainen, Helena, 2007. "Integration of financial supervision," Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers 12/2007, Bank of Finland.
    18. Amel, Dean & Barnes, Colleen & Panetta, Fabio & Salleo, Carmelo, 2004. "Consolidation and efficiency in the financial sector: A review of the international evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(10), pages 2493-2519, October.
    19. Martin Eling & David Pankoke, 2016. "Costs and Benefits of Financial Regulation: An Empirical Assessment for Insurance Companies," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 41(4), pages 529-554, October.
    20. Steffen Huck & Kai A. Konrad & Wieland Müller, 2000. "Merger in Contests," CESifo Working Paper Series 241, CESifo.
      • Huck, Steffen & Konrad, Kai A. & Müller, Wieland, 2000. "Merger in contests," SFB 373 Discussion Papers 2000,3, Humboldt University of Berlin, Interdisciplinary Research Project 373: Quantification and Simulation of Economic Processes.
    21. Jarraya, Bilel & Bouri, Abdelfettah, 2012. "Efficiency concept and investigations in insurance industry: A survey," MPRA Paper 53544, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2013.
    22. Kaffash, Sepideh & Azizi, Roza & Huang, Ying & Zhu, Joe, 2020. "A survey of data envelopment analysis applications in the insurance industry 1993–2018," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 284(3), pages 801-813.
    23. Schaper, Philipp, 2017. "Under pressure: how the business environment affects productivity and efficiency of European life insurance companiesAuthor-Name: Eling, Martin," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 258(3), pages 1082-1094.

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