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Intergenerational Risk Sharing in Life Insurance: Evidence from France

Author

Listed:
  • Johan Hombert

    (HEC Paris - Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales)

  • Victor Lyonnet

Abstract

We study intergenerational risk sharing taking place in one of the most common retail investment products in Europe---life insurance savings contracts---focusing on the 1.4 trillion euro French market. Using regulatory and survey data, we show that contract returns are an order of magnitude less volatile than the returns of assets backing the contracts. Contract return smoothing is achieved using reserves that absorb fluctuations in asset returns and that generate intertemporal transfers across generations of investors. We estimate the average annual amount of intergenerational transfer at 1.4% of contract value, i.e., 17 billion euros per year or 0.8% of GDP. While theory asserts that intergenerational risk sharing cannot take place in competitive markets because it relies on non-exploited return predictability, we show that: (a)~contracts returns are indeed predictable; (b)~investor flows barely react to predictable returns; (c)~observed fees offset the estimated gain from exploiting contract return predictability.

Suggested Citation

  • Johan Hombert & Victor Lyonnet, 2017. "Intergenerational Risk Sharing in Life Insurance: Evidence from France," Working Papers hal-02068358, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-02068358
    DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3066092
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ralph S.J. Koijen & Motohiro Yogo, 2022. "The Fragility of Market Risk Insurance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(2), pages 815-862, April.
    2. Ralph S. J. Koijen & Motohiro Yogo, 2021. "The evolution from life insurance to financial engineering," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 46(2), pages 89-111, September.
    3. Stéphane Loisel, 2014. "Reevaluation of the capital charge in insurance after a large shock: empirical and theoretical views," Post-Print hal-02013669, HAL.
    4. Monnet, Eric & , & Ungaro, Stefano, 2021. "The Real Effects of Bank Runs. Evidence from the French Great Depression (1930-1931)," CEPR Discussion Papers 16054, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Aurélien Violon & Dominique Durant & Oana Toader, 2018. "The Impact of the Identification of GSIBs on their Business Model," Débats économiques et financiers 33, Banque de France.
    6. J. Hombert & V. Lyonnet, 2017. "Intergenerational Risk Sharing in Life Insurance: Evidence from France," Débats économiques et financiers 30, Banque de France.
    7. Cyril Pouvelle., 2022. "An Analysis of Financial Conglomerate Resilience: A Perspective on bancassurance in France [Une analyse de la résilience des conglomérats financiers : Une perspective sur la bancassurance en France," Débats économiques et financiers 39, Banque de France.
    8. 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).

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