Investor confidence and life insurance demand: can economic condition limit life insurance business?

PurposeLife insurance is bought with a prior belief that promise stipulated in policy will be honored when due. Discernibly, this belief is backed by the confidence that financial markets and economy will demonstrate satisfactory performance. However, individuals' confidence levels may get shaken through naïve reinforcement learning if they witness negative market or economic condition. Considering this the authors investigate the relationship between investor confidence and life insurance demand.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used bias corrected bootstrapped sample of OECD economies to examine the link between investor confidence and life insurance demand when two possible economic conditions were witnessed: 1) normal/economic expansion and 2) economic/debt impairment. The findings are robust to alternate estimation techniques and endogeneity.FindingsThe authors found that lower investor confidence, sovereign debt impairment and negative market condition will have negative repercussion on life insurance demand. On the other hand, investor confidence-life insurance demand nexus is merely influenced by market and economic condition.Originality/valueThis is a premier research explaining the nexus between investor confidence and life insurance demand in the context of life-cycle hypothesis, sovereign ratings channel and experience-confidence-belief framework. The finding will help economic policy-makers in developing pre-emptive measures to protect life insurance businesses from negative repercussions of lower confidence and negative market conditions.

Drivers of life insurance consumption - an empirical analysis of Western Balkan countries

Life insurance in the Western Balkan Countries is underdeveloped, but it has huge potential for development in the future. The scope of this article is to examine whether and how economic, socio- demographic, and institutional factors determine the demand for life insurance in the Western Balkans, using life insurance density and life insurance penetration as indicators of life insurance demand during 2006-2019. In order to conduct a crosscountry analysis we use panel data regression models and a feasible generalised least squares regression model. The analysis reveals that the most significant factors are income per capita and changes in the urban population. The article contributes to the existing literature by identifying the variables that affect demand for life insurance in the Western Balkans and by providing evidence for insurance operators, authorities, and governments of the respective countries to find ways to further develop the insurance market.

Stock Return Uncertainty and Life Insurance

Knightian uncertainty embedded in stock returns causes rising demand for life insurance, as the uncertainty averse agent seeks alternative investment channels. Life insurance demand of middle-aged agent is more sensitive to the uncertainty. Stock return uncertainty reduces the agent’s total wealth and subsequently the propensity of wealthy agent serving as an insurance seller. Rising demand and falling supply of life insurance imply that life insurance is more expensive in the presence of stock return uncertainty. Sensitivity of life insurance demand to the mortality rate and key stock return characteristics also changes with the uncertainty.