IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spt/apfiba/v13y2023i6f13_6_8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Reinsurance and Sustainability: Evidence from International Insurers

Author

Listed:
  • Silvia Bressan

Abstract

Reinsurance is an integral transaction to the insurance business and carries real economic consequences. While the previous literature on risk management has examined the effects from reinsurance, in more recent years there is a growing interest on the topic of sustainability and its consequences on corporate risk taking. In this article we analyze a sample of international insurers between 2013 and 2022. We show that the purchase of reinsurance is negatively related to their sustainability, as measured by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores. Furthermore, we illustrate that insurers’ losses decrease in higher levels of reinsurance and sustainability. However, while reinsurance brings down insurers’ profitability, sound ESG scores are related to lower expenses and increasing profitability. Our interpretation is that strong ESG profiles may serve as a cheaper alternative to reinsurance in order to mitigate claim risk. These findings support the previous views that sustainability has a positive impact on financing costs and valuation.  JEL classification numbers: G22.

Suggested Citation

  • Silvia Bressan, 2023. "Reinsurance and Sustainability: Evidence from International Insurers," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 13(6), pages 1-8.
    • Handle: RePEc:spt:apfiba:v:13:y:2023:i:6:f:13_6_8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.scienpress.com/Upload/JAFB%2fVol%2013_6_8.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. ., 2019. "The impact of giving behaviours on a cohesive social environment," Chapters, in: Giving Behaviours and Social Cohesion, chapter 6, pages 137-158, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Marina Brogi & Antonella Cappiello & Valentina Lagasio & Fabrizio Santoboni, 2022. "Determinants of insurance companies' environmental, social, and governance awareness," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1357-1369, September.
    3. J. David Cummins & Georges Dionne & Robert Gagné & Abdelhakim Nouira, 2021. "The costs and benefits of reinsurance," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 46(2), pages 177-199, April.
    4. He, Feng & Ding, Cong & Yue, Wei & Liu, Guanchun, 2023. "ESG performance and corporate risk-taking: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    5. Thomas R. Berry†Stölzle & Jianren Xu, 2018. "Enterprise Risk Management and the Cost of Capital," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 85(1), pages 159-201, March.
    6. Adams, Mike & Hardwick, Philip & Zou, Hong, 2008. "Reinsurance and corporate taxation in the United Kingdom life insurance industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 101-115, January.
    7. Hou, Kewei & van Dijk, Mathijs A. & Zhang, Yinglei, 2012. "The implied cost of capital: A new approach," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 504-526.
    8. Jean-Baptiste, Eslyn L. & Santomero, Anthony M., 2000. "The Design of Private Reinsurance Contracts," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 274-297, July.
    9. Nicos A. Scordis & Yoshihiko Suzawa & Astrid Zwick & Lucia Ruckner, 2014. "Principles for Sustainable Insurance: Risk Management and Value," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 17(2), pages 265-276, September.
    10. William R. Gebhardt & Charles M. C. Lee & Bhaskaran Swaminathan, 2001. "Toward an Implied Cost of Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 135-176, June.
    11. Lawrence Powell & David Sommer, 2007. "Internal Versus External Capital Markets in the Insurance Industry: The Role of Reinsurance," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 31(2), pages 173-188, June.
    12. Switzer, Lorne N. & Tu, Qiao & Wang, Jun, 2018. "Corporate governance and default risk in financial firms over the post-financial crisis period: International evidence," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 196-210.
    13. Sojung Carol Park & Xiaoying Xie, 2014. "Reinsurance and Systemic Risk: The Impact of Reinsurer Downgrading on Property–Casualty Insurers," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 81(3), pages 587-622, September.
    14. Froot, Kenneth A., 2001. "The market for catastrophe risk: a clinical examination," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2-3), pages 529-571, May.
    15. Mayers, David & Smith, Clifford W, Jr, 1990. "On the Corporate Demand for Insurance: Evidence from the Reinsurance Market," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 63(1), pages 19-40, January.
    16. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 1992. "The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(2), pages 427-465, June.
    17. Cassandra R. Cole & Kathleen A. McCullough, 2006. "A Reexamination of the Corporate Demand for Reinsurance," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 73(1), pages 169-192, March.
    18. Silke Finken & Christian Laux, 2009. "Catastrophe Bonds and Reinsurance: The Competitive Effect of Information‐Insensitive Triggers," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 76(3), pages 579-605, September.
    19. Adiel, Ron, 1996. "Reinsurance and the management of regulatory ratios and taxes in the property--casualty insurance industry," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1-3), pages 207-240, October.
    20. Gao, Wei & Liu, Zebin, 2023. "Green credit and corporate ESG performance: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PB).
    21. Cassandra R. Cole & Kathleen A. McCullough, 2008. "A Comparative Analysis of U.S. Property and Casualty Reinsurers and Insurers," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 11(1), pages 179-207, March.
    22. Yung‐Ming Shiu, 2011. "Reinsurance and Capital Structure: Evidence From the United Kingdom Non‐Life Insurance Industry," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 78(2), pages 475-494, June.
    23. Berger, Lawrence A & Cummins, J David & Tennyson, Sharon, 1992. "Reinsurance and the Liability Insurance Crisis," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 5(3), pages 253-272, July.
    24. repec:dau:papers:123456789/7349 is not listed on IDEAS
    25. Yu Lei, 2019. "Reinsurance and Insurers’ Risk‐Return Profile," Journal of Insurance Issues, Western Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 42(1), pages 37-65.
    26. ., 2019. "Environmental impacts," Chapters, in: Food Loss and Food Waste, chapter 3, pages 46-68, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    27. Marie-Louise Rossi & Nicholas Lowe, 2002. "Regulating Reinsurance in the Global Market," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 27(1), pages 122-133, January.
    28. Gunther Capelle-Blancard & S. Monjon, 2012. "Trends in the literature on socially responsible investment: Looking for the keys under the lamppost," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-00733402, HAL.
    29. Myers, Stewart C., 1977. "Determinants of corporate borrowing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 147-175, November.
    30. Luo, Chunhua & Wei, Dianlong & He, Feng, 2023. "Corporate ESG performance and trade credit financing – Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 337-351.
    31. Vineet Upreti & Mike Adams & Yihui Jia, 2022. "Risk management and the cost of equity: evidence from the United Kingdom’s non-life insurance market," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(6), pages 551-570, April.
    32. Gurenko, Eugene N. & Itigin, Alexander, 2013. "Reinsurance as capital optimization tool under Solvency II," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6306, The World Bank.
    33. Finger, Maya & Gavious, Ilanit & Manos, Ronny, 2018. "Environmental risk management and financial performance in the banking industry: A cross-country comparison," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 240-261.
    34. ., 2019. "The impact of a cohesive social environment on giving behaviours," Chapters, in: Giving Behaviours and Social Cohesion, chapter 7, pages 159-187, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    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. Silvia Bressan, 2023. "Effects from ESG Scores on P&C Insurance Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-15, August.

    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. Tobias Götze & Marc Gürtler, 2022. "Risk transfer beyond reinsurance: the added value of CAT bonds," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 47(1), pages 125-171, January.
    2. Chia-Ling Ho & Gene Lai & Sangyong Han & Licheng Jin, 2022. "Organisational structure, corporate governance and reinsurance decisions in the U.S. property-liability insurance industry," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 47(4), pages 737-784, October.
    3. Upreti, Vineet & Adams, Mike, 2015. "The strategic role of reinsurance in the United Kingdom’s (UK) non-life insurance market," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 206-219.
    4. Sana Sheikh & Ali Murad Syed & Syed Sikander Ali Shah, 2018. "Corporate Reinsurance Utilisation and Capital Structure: Evidence from Pakistan Insurance Industry," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 43(2), pages 300-334, April.
    5. J. David Cummins & Georges Dionne & Robert Gagné & Abdelhakim Nouira, 2021. "The costs and benefits of reinsurance," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 46(2), pages 177-199, April.
    6. Shiu, Yung-Ming, 2020. "How does reinsurance and derivatives usage affect financial performance? Evidence from the UK non-life insurance industry," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 376-385.
    7. 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.
    8. Jiyeon Yun & James M. Carson & David L. Eckles, 2023. "Executive compensation and corporate risk management," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 90(2), pages 521-557, June.
    9. Selim Mankaï & Aymen Belgacem, 2013. "Interactions Between Risk-Taking, Capital, and Reinsurance for Property-Liability Insurance Firms," EconomiX Working Papers 2013-23, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    10. Dionne, Georges & Desjardins, Denise, 2017. "Reinsurance Demand and Liquidity Creation," Working Papers 17-3, HEC Montreal, Canada Research Chair in Risk Management.
    11. Muhammed Altuntas & James Garven & Jannes Rauch, 2018. "On the Corporate Demand for Insurance: Evidence From the Global Reinsurance Market," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 21(2), pages 211-242, September.
    12. Aduloju Sunday Adekunle & Ajemunigbohun Sunday Stephen, 2017. "Reinsurance and Performance of the Ceding Companies: The Nigerian Insurance Industry Experience," Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 31(1), pages 19-29, August.
    13. Desjardins, Denise & Dionne, Georges & Koné, N’Golo, 2022. "Reinsurance demand and liquidity creation: A search for bicausality," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 137-154.
    14. Hsiao, Ching-Yuan & Shiu, Yung-Ming, 2023. "Risk-sharing function in internal capital markets: Evidence from intragroup reinsurance activities," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    15. Selim Mankaï & Aymen Belgacem, 2016. "Interactions Between Risk Taking, Capital, and Reinsurance for Property–Liability Insurance Firms," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 83(4), pages 1007-1043, December.
    16. Selim Mankai & Aymen Belgacem, 2013. "Interactions Between Risk-Taking, Capital, and Reinsurance for Property-Liability Insurance Firms," Working Papers hal-04141190, HAL.
    17. Pablo Gutiérrez González & Lars†Fredrik Andersson, 2018. "Managing financial constraints: undercapitalization and underwriting capacity in Spanish fire insurance," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 71(2), pages 567-592, May.
    18. Lawrence Powell & David Sommer, 2007. "Internal Versus External Capital Markets in the Insurance Industry: The Role of Reinsurance," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 31(2), pages 173-188, June.
    19. Veprauskaite, Elena & Sherris, Michael, 2014. "Reinsurance decisions in life insurance: An empirical test of the risk–return criterion," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 128-139.
    20. Dionne, Georges & Harrington, Scott, 2017. "Insurance and Insurance Markets," Working Papers 17-2, HEC Montreal, Canada Research Chair in Risk Management.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ESG; Reinsurance; Sustainability.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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:spt:apfiba:v:13:y:2023:i:6:f:13_6_8. 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: Eleftherios Spyromitros-Xioufis (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.scienpress.com/ .

    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.