scholarly journals Applications of Clustering with Mixed Type Data in Life Insurance

Risks ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Shuang Yin ◽  
Guojun Gan ◽  
Emiliano A. Valdez ◽  
Jeyaraj Vadiveloo
Keyword(s):  
Life Insurance ◽  
Clustering Algorithm ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Life Insurers ◽  
Insurance Portfolio ◽  
Policy Information ◽  
Spatial Attributes ◽  
Type Data ◽  
Significant Mortality

Death benefits are generally the largest cash flow items that affect the financial statements of life insurers; some may still not have a systematic process to track and monitor death claims. In this article, we explore data clustering to examine and understand how actual death claims differ from what is expected—an early stage of developing a monitoring system crucial for risk management. We extended the k-prototype clustering algorithm to draw inferences from a life insurance dataset using only the insured’s characteristics and policy information without regard to known mortality. This clustering has the feature of efficiently handling categorical, numerical, and spatial attributes. Using gap statistics, the optimal clusters obtained from the algorithm are then used to compare actual to expected death claims experience of the life insurance portfolio. Our empirical data contained observations of approximately 1.14 million policies with a total insured amount of over 650 billion dollars. For this portfolio, the algorithm produced three natural clusters, with each cluster having lower actual to expected death claims but with differing variability. The analytical results provide management a process to identify policyholders’ attributes that dominate significant mortality deviations, and thereby enhance decision making for taking necessary actions.

Indian Life Insurance Market and Corporate Performances: A Study of Selected Firms

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy Chakraborty ◽  
Partha Pratim Sengupta
Keyword(s):  
Market Share ◽  
Life Insurance ◽  
Market Concentration ◽  
Insurance Market ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Insurance Company ◽  
Life Insurance Company ◽  
Insurance Sector ◽  
Life Insurers ◽  
Company Limited

In the pre-reform era, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LICI) dominated the Indian life insurance market with a market share close to 100 percent. But the situation drastically changed since the enactment of the IRDA Act in 1999. At the end of the FY 2012-13, the market share of LICI stood at around 73 percent with the number of players having risen to 24 in the countrys life insurance sector. One of the reasons for such a decline in the market share of LICI during the post-reform period could be attributed to the increasing competition prevailing in the countrys life insurance sector. At the same time, the liberalization of the life insurance sector for private participation has eventually raised issues about ensuring sound financial performance and solvency of the life insurance companies besides protection of the interest of policyholders. The present study is an attempt to evaluate and compare the financial performances, solvency, and the market concentration of the four leading life insurers in India namely the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LICI), ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited (ICICI PruLife), HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited (HDFC Standard), and SBI Life Insurance Company Limited (SBI Life), over a span of five successive FYs 2008-09 to 2012-13. In this regard, the CARAMELS model has been used to evaluate the performances of the selected life insurers, based on the Financial Soundness Indicators (FSIs) as published by IMF. In addition to this, the Solvency and the Market Concentration Analyses were also presented for the selected life insurers for the given period. The present study revealed the preexisting dominance of LICI even after 15 years since the privatization of the countrys life insurance sector.

scholarly journals The IFRS 17 contractual service margin: a life insurance perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Yousuf ◽  
J. Stansfield ◽  
K. Malde ◽  
N. Mirin ◽  
R. Walton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Insurance ◽  
Market Value ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Insurance Contract ◽  
Accounting Standard ◽  
Insurance Contracts ◽  
Ifrs 4 ◽  
Insurance Perspective ◽  
To Come

Abstract IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts is a new accounting standard currently expected to come into force on 1 January 2023. It supersedes IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts. IFRS 17 establishes key principles that entities must apply in all aspects of the accounting of insurance contracts. In doing so, the Standard aims to increase the usefulness, comparability, transparency and quality of financial statements. A fundamental concept introduced by IFRS 17 is the contractual service margin (CSM). This represents the unearned profit that an entity expects to earn as it provides services. However, as a principles-based standard, IFRS 17 results in entities having to apply significant judgement when determining the inputs, assumptions and techniques it uses to determine the CSM at each reporting period. In general, the Standard resolves broad categories of mismatches which arise under IFRS 4. Notable examples include mismatches between assets recorded at current market value and liabilities calculated using fixed discount rates as well as inconsistencies in the timing of profit recognition over the duration of an insurance contract. However, there are requirements of IFRS 17 that may create economic or accounting mismatches of its own. For example, new mismatches could arise between the measurement of underlying contracts and the corresponding reinsurance held. Additionally, mismatches can still arise between the measurement of liabilities and the assets that support the liabilities. This paper explores the technical, operational and commercial issues that arise across these and other areas focusing on the CSM. As a standard that is still very much in its infancy, and for which wider consensus on topics is yet to be achieved, this paper aims to provide readers with a deeper understanding of the issues and opportunities that accompany it.

Economies of scale in European life insurance

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 190-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Udo Klotzki ◽  
Alexander Bohnert ◽  
Nadine Gatzert ◽  
Ulrike Vogelgesang
Keyword(s):  
Life Insurance ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Insurance Markets ◽  
Fixed Effects Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Administrative Costs ◽  
Life Insurers ◽  
Acquisition Costs ◽  
The Uk

Purpose Due to the continuing low interest rate environment as well as the increase in acquisition costs, price transparency, cost transparency and competition with banks, the cost of life insurance becomes increasingly important for customers, insurers and shareholders. Against this background, the purpose of this paper is to study the development of insurers’ economies of scale in regard to administrative costs for four of the largest European life insurance markets. Design/methodology/approach The analysis on economies of scale is based on a comprehensive set of 477 life insurers in Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, yearly data between 2000 and 2014, and regression calculations that are based on 4,855 observations. Findings The results show that economies of scale exist for all considered markets and for most of the considered years. However, the extent of economies of scale varies considerably across countries. Originality/value Overall, the existing academic literature on costs and corresponding economies of scale in life insurance primarily deals with analyses of total costs instead of administrative costs, a single year or a single market. This paper contributes to the existing literature by conducting an analysis of recent market dynamics and economies of scale in regard to administrative costs for the period from 2000 and 2014 for four of the largest European life insurance markets for which the respective data were available (Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) and 477 life insurers in total. This is done by means of a log-log transformation of premiums and costs and a fixed effects model based on these transformed figures for 4,855 observations. In addition, for each market, the authors analyze the development of administrative costs for a total of 477 insurers.

scholarly journals Experience rating with Poisson mixtures

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 304-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garfield O. Brown ◽  
Winston S. Buckley
Keyword(s):  
Life Insurance ◽  
Dirichlet Process ◽  
Posterior Probability ◽  
Mixture Distribution ◽  
Reversible Jump ◽  
Dirichlet Process Prior ◽  
Poisson Mixtures ◽  
Group Life ◽  
Insurance Portfolio ◽  
Poisson Mixture Model

AbstractWe propose a Poisson mixture model for count data to determine the number of groups in a Group Life insurance portfolio consisting of claim numbers or deaths. We take a non-parametric Bayesian approach to modelling this mixture distribution using a Dirichlet process prior and use reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo to estimate the number of components in the mixture. Unlike Haastrup, we show that the assumption of identical heterogeneity for all groups may not hold as 88% of the posterior probability is assigned to models with two or three components, and 11% to models with four or five components, whereas models with one component are never visited. Our major contribution is showing how to account for both model uncertainty and parameter estimation within a single framework.

scholarly journals Challenges and Ways to Develop Insurance Industry in KSA Market

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maher Taib Toukabri ◽  
Hafedh Hedi Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Life Insurance ◽  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Insurance Industry ◽  
Opinion Leadership ◽  
Theoretical Interest ◽  
Measurement Scales ◽  
Insurance Portfolio ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Sample Count ◽  
Insurance Data

Psychology and ethnic play a central role within Saudi Arabia market. Thus, this editorial argues the cultural and emotion effects on the Saudi consumption of life insurance. Even thought, the present paper intend to understand the reasons of the slowly growth of the purchase of this product and how to increase its rate in the insurance portfolio? Subsequently, this study target to confirm the significant effects of religiosity, optimism, opinion leadership, emotional regulation on Saudi behavior to subscribe in life insurance. Data was collected from two samples. The first sample, count 210 respondents, worn to purify the measurement scales of the variables studied in the exploratory phase. The second sample was administered from belonging 654 policyholders in order to confirm the measures instruments, to verify the hypotheses, validate and re-specify the model. Thus, this study bears a theoretical interest for researchers and it is useful for practitioners in this sector.

The U.K. With-Profits Life Insurance Industry: A Market Analysis

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 747-777
Author(s):  
C. D. O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Life Insurance ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Lower Cost ◽  
Insurance Industry ◽  
Significant Degree ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Market Analysis ◽  
Life Insurers ◽  
Life Insurance Industry ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTThis paper reviews the market structure of the U.K. with-profits life insurance market and the potential effect on how life insurers operate. We consider the competitiveness of the market, quantifying the increase in the degree of concentration since 2000, and establishing that inherited estates may offer some protection from competition for incumbent firms. However, there is a significant degree of mobility in market positions of leading firms. Analysis of costs indicates some large differences between firms, with larger firms experiencing lower cost ratios, indicative of economies of scale. There are some marked differences in insurers' prices, the data showing that charges tend to be lower on unit-linked than on with-profits policies. The paper suggests that while there are potential concerns about how the market operates for consumers, the impact is limited by the dramatic reduction in new with-profits business.

Auswirkungen der anhaltenden Niedrigzinsen auf das Versicherungswesen

2015 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heinrich R. Schradin
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rates ◽  
Life Insurance ◽  
Insurance Industry ◽  
Fair Value ◽  
Cash Flows ◽  
Capital Adequacy ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Life Insurers ◽  
Low Interest Rates ◽  
German Life

AbstractFocusing the perspective of German life insurance industry, this article starts with a brief description and discussion of the financial impact of the persistently low interest rate environment. Based on an empirical data set of German life insurers, the author illustrates actual limitations to generate sufficient investment income for to meet the given specific financial guarantees. Moreover, the core problem, caused by the use of volatile timingrelated interest rates for to evaluate long-term cash flows, becomes obvious. The currently observed regulatory interventions are trying to overcome the existential consequences of the so-called fair value measurement. In consequence, the author derives four central theses:1. Life insurance in Germany suffers from insufficient capital adequacy.2. Persistent low interest rates threaten the fulfillment of financial guaranty commitments of German life insurers.3. The generally accepted principals of economic evaluation do not satisfy to the traditional business model of German life insurers.4. Under a business perspective, the development of new life insurance products is inevitable.

Determinants of Derivative Usage in the Life and General Insurance Industry: The Australian Evidence

2003 ◽  
Vol 06 (04) ◽  
pp. 405-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc De Ceuster ◽  
Liam Flanagan ◽  
Allan Hodgson ◽  
Mohammad I. Tahir
Keyword(s):  
Life Insurance ◽  
Insurance Industry ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Long Tail ◽  
Life Insurers ◽  
Market Risks ◽  
Life Insurance Industry ◽  
General Insurance ◽  
Standard Operating

Core business and financial market risks are not easily reduced by standard operating procedures in insurance companies. Derivatives theoretically provide a cost effective vehicle to hedge these risks. This paper provides an empirical analysis of the determinants of derivative usage as well as the extent of derivative usage in the Australian insurance industry in both life and general insurance companies for the period 1997–1999. Empirical results for the Australian life insurance industry in general confirm the findings of UK and US based research. However, the Australian general insurance industry does not appear to follow the conclusions of previous literature. Our results indicate that for life insurers, the determinants of derivative usage were size, leverage and reinsurance. For the general insurance industry the determinants were size and the extent of long tail lines of business written. As regards the determinants of the extent of derivative usage, these were size and asset-liability duration mismatches for life insurers. For the general insurance industry the determinants of the extent of derivative usage were size, the extent of long tail lines of business written, and the reporting year.

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