Foreign-owned insurer performance in the US property-liability markets

Abstract

Foreign-owned property-liability insurers have increased their market share in the US in the recent decades. They may have achieved this by being more efficient, by undercutting prices to attract away business from their domestic rivals, or both. We investigate return, risk, efficiency and determinants of efficiency performance of these insurers relative to their domestic competitors. We find that these firms are less profitable and less efficient in terms of cost scale and revenue X-efficiencies but more efficient in terms of cost X- and revenue scale efficiencies. Overall, the evidence shows that both of the aforementioned factors have contributed to their growth.