Life Assurance Market Research Articles

The exploration of future tendencies of the Lithuanian life insurance market

The objective of the research: The article treats the development tendencies of the Lithuanian life insurance market and evaluates its actual perspectives as compared to the markets of other European Union countries.The subjective of the research: The tendencies of the Lithuanian life insurance market development and its perspectives in the European context.Research methods: The analysis of the life insurance market embodies the arranged, systemized and carefully analyzed empirical data. The research uses the primal statistical data of the Lithuanian life assurance market collected and generalized by the Lithuanian Life Assurers Association and the Insurance Supervisory Commission of the Republic of Lithuania, and the statistical data of the Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania concerning Lithuanian macroeconomics indexes. Some notices and assertions are circumstantial to the personal experience of the author.

Complex services and choice criteria: an example from the life assurance market

This study analyses customer choice criteria in the context of a complex service, more specifically, endowment life assurance policies. The study draws upon previous literature which has suggested that service complexity may have implications for consumer behaviour in general and customer choice criteria in particular. A quantitative study is employed to investigate the relative importance of choice criteria in endowments and differences in importance with respect to various demographic and related factors. Findings indicate that the consumer's choice of institution is most often influenced by use of an existing service with that firm, followed closely by choosing on the basis of recommendation or family relationship. Factors such as performance and charges are shown to be relatively unimportant choice criteria. In addition, differences in the importance of choice criteria with respect to gender, class, household income, educational attainment, age and financial maturity are apparent.

Investigating the benefits of mutuality: Mutual versus proprietary annuity provision

The paper is concerned with annuities research and retirement income provision. This is an important area of research in the UK, as annuity instruments lie at the heart of any post-retirement income scheme. The paper examines the structural differences across the provider market for pension annuities — financial instruments typically exchanged for accrued pension wealth to provide an income stream for life. The financial services industry is probably unique in having a substantial mutual sector coexisting with, and competing against, joint stock companies. Specifically in this paper, we undertake an empirical examination of the differences observable across UK annuity rates, between the mainstream mutual and Plc providers over the period 1994–2001. This time frame has encompassed a wholesale transformation of the UK life assurance market, as the majority of mutual assurance providers have elected to change corporate form through the process of demutualisation. This trend towards wholesale proprietary structures has concurred with a general consolidation across the financial services industry. The paper examines these changes from an annuitant's perspective and shows that mutuality appears to have served policyholders well, as demonstrated by improved annuity rate offerings across a spectrum of standardised annuity products.

The Canadian Life Assurance Market.

The authors have endeavoured to highlight those aspects which, because of the way they contrast with British practices, are likely to be of particular interest to actuaries in the U.K.Subjects reviewed include economic and demographic trends; a description of the life companies, both Canadian and foreign, operating in Canada; the regulatory environment including the recent legislative changes designed to bring financial statements closer to ‘GAAP’; the new actuarial valuation procedures and the wider responsibilities of the signing actuary; asset values and the new treatment of investment gains and losses; taxation; marketing systems; and the major types of policies and benefits sold, including the implications of guaranteed cash values.Also included is a review of the actuarial profession and the education of the actuary in Canada.

The South African Life Assurance Market.

Two previous papers have been presented on the South African life assurance market but they have both dealt with the Actuary in South Africa. The first one was presented in 1957 by Messrs. Smit, Sherman, Williams and Roger and the second in 1974 by Mr P. W. Barke.The historical and geographical information given in this paper expands on that given by Mr Barke but is reproduced here for completeness.

The German Life Assurance Market

1. The paper sets out a brief description of the life assurance market in the Federal Republic of Germany (including West Berlin). The aim has been to highlight those aspects of the market, in particular the supervision system, which differ significantly from British practice. After a section giving some historical background, the main section outlines the present market and the paper concludes with a brief look at the future.2. The paper is based on the impressions which we obtained in establishing a new branch office of a British proprietary life assurance company in Germany. The views expressed are, however, entirely personal. Our thanks are due to J. A. Langley and R. J. McCurrach, who assembled the statistical material.

Concentration in the U.K. Ordinary Life Assurance Market

Studies of market concentration have been generally restricted to the manufacturing and distributive industries, with little attention paid to the markets in which financial companies operate,' but it is the purpose of this study to deal with one such market-the market for life assurance. With progressively closer regulation of insurance business has come an increasing wealth of published statistics relating to the whole industry, and, while it is not suggested that the extent or form of the published data is now wholly satisfactory, they do provide a useful source of basic industry-wide data for a study such as this. The scope of this study will be limited to the ordinary life assurance market,2 and it will be substantially based on the statistics published by the Department of Trade and Industry [6], which is the agency responsible for regulating the conduct of insurance business in the U.K. However, due to the long delays which have recently arisen in the publication of these statistics, an attempt will be made to present a more up-to-date picture by making use of slightly less comprehensive data for 1972. Section I will consider the need for study of concentration in life assurance, while section II will review the existing studies. Section III discusses various aspects of concentration in the life assurance market, and section IV presents the empirical results of this study. Section V contains the conclusions.

The Danish Life Assurance Market

1.1. Historically, as today, the Danish insurance community has been subjected to a far greater degree of official supervision than their U.K. colleagues are accustomed to. Insurance can only be written if the Forsikringsraad (Insurance Supervisory Board) recommends that the applicant office be granted a concession to do so. In particular, the Forsikringsraad will have to be satisfied that the office's premium rates are adequate. At a time when the U.K. is moving towards closer supervision, it is particularly interesting and instructive to examine a functioning supervisory system. (Section 6 of the present paper deals with this aspect of insurance in Denmark.)

The Dutch Life Assurance Market

1. This paper is based upon experience derived and impressions gained from working as a foreigner in the Dutch life assurance market. The views expressed are essentially personal2. In setting up a life assurance operation in a foreign country the factors to be considered are immensely complex and the decision to enter the market is merely the beginning of a long process of analysis and further decisions. In this paper I have made no attempt either to enumerate or to consider these factors. This is a descriptive paper and not an analytical one.3. After a short historical review the broad elements which comprise the present Dutch market are discussed and finally I mention briefly what I see as some of the important trends and future possibilities for this market.

The Problems of a New Life Office

It might at first be thought that this paper is limited to the problems of those few who hope to establish a new office in a highly organized and competitive life assurance market. Yet all offices wishing to expand will be faced with problems of a similar nature. This is evident when contemplating a development overseas and was the subject of a paper to the Faculty in March 1960 by R. G. Mallett (T.F.A.26, 547).