Non-life insurance price dynamics: evidence from the Chinese insurance market

Abstract

Non-life insurance prices may fluctuate due to economic and/or institutional factors; occasionally, the changes are cyclical. While the majority of previous studies relating to insurance price dynamics adopt data from developed economies, this paper uses data from China to provide new evidence. This study tests the long-term and short-term effects of real gross domestic product (GDP), interest rate and rate of stock market return on the prices of different lines of non-life insurance, i.e., property-liability insurance and personal accident insurance. The results indicate that the price dynamics of property-liability insurance are generally similar to those of developed countries, except for the effect of GDP, while price determination of personal accident insurance seems to be affected by a wider range of economic and institutional variables and has its own features. The price dynamics of non-life insurance in China have been identified as being connected to the country-specific economic and institutional environments.