Performance determinants of non-life insurance firms: a systematic review of the literature

The performance of non-life insurers is essential to the economy because of their role in mitigating the risks firms and households face. This study provides a comprehensive overview of studies examining factors affecting non-life insurers’ performance. Based on 235 studies published between 1990 and 2021, the review demonstrates that firm-level factors such as size, organisational form, diversification, capital structure, risk, reinsurance, corporate governance, distribution system, and group affiliation, and external factors such as market structure, macroeconomic, financial, and institutional development are the major determinants of non-life insurers’ performance. Although the empirical evidence on the effect of these factors is generally mixed, firm size, capitalisation, risk, macroeconomic conditions, and, to some extent, corporate governance and market structure issues show a clear relationship with insurer performance. One of the implications of this study is that there may be a need for increased solvency surveillance, especially for smaller insurers, which appear to have a higher risk of insolvency than their larger counterparts. The performance of non-life insurers is important to the economy because of the role they play in mitigating the risks firms and households face. This study provides a comprehensive overview of studies published between 1990 and 2021 that examined factors affecting the performance of non-life insurers. Based on 235 studies the review demonstrates that firm-level factors such as size, organisational form, diversification, capital structure, risk, reinsurance, corporate governance, distribution system, and group affiliation and external factors such as market structure, macroeconomic, financial, and institutional development are the major determinants of non-life insurers’ performance. One of the implications of this survey is that there may be need for increased solvency surveillance, especially of smaller insurers which appear to have a higher risk of insolvency than their larger counterparts. Proper risk management could play a significant role in the operations of non-life insurers.非寿险保险公司（non-life insurers）的经营表现对经济体至关重要，因其在缓释企业与家庭面临的风险方面发挥着关键作用。本研究对1990年至2021年间发表的235项探讨非寿险保险公司经营表现影响因素的相关文献进行了全面综述。该综述显示，企业层面因素（包括规模、组织形式、多元化经营、资本结构、风险水平、再保险、公司治理、分销体系以及集团隶属关系）与外部层面因素（包括市场结构、宏观经济环境、金融发展水平与制度建设水平）均是非寿险保险公司经营表现的主要决定因素。尽管现有关于上述因素影响效应的实证证据整体上存在分歧，但企业规模、资本充足率、风险水平、宏观经济环境，以及一定程度上的公司治理与市场结构问题，均与保险公司经营表现呈现出明确的相关性。本研究的一项重要启示是，有必要加强偿付能力监管，尤其是针对小型保险公司——相较于大型同业机构，小型保险公司的偿付风险显著更高。合理的风险管理对于非寿险保险公司的运营能够发挥重要作用。