Los seguros patrimoniales forman parte del portafolio de productos de las empresas aseguradoras, estos se ofrecen para el mercado empresas y personas. La intención de compra de este servicio ha desencadenado una serie de cuestiones sobre los factores involucrados en dicha acción. Es por ello, que se ha realizado una investigación académica donde se analizan los factores influyentes en la intención de compra de un seguro patrimonial, donde de la importancia se centra en la definición e interpretación de la percepción del riesgo. Esta percepción es un factor muy importante de analizar, puesto que la incorporación de dichos factores definen a nuestro consumidor y su tendencia de compra. Se reconoce que la percepción del riesgo es parte fundamental de la intención de compra y es de ahí donde desencadenan otros factores como son los sociodemográficos, de comportamiento, entre otros. / Property insurance is part of the product portfolio of insurance companies, these are offered to the market for companies and individuals. The intention to purchase this service has triggered a series of questions about the factors involved in such action. That is why an academic investigation has been carried out where the influencing factors in the intention to purchase property insurance are analyzed, where the importance is focused on the definition and interpretation of the perception of risk. This perception is a very important factor to analyze, since the incorporation of these factors defines our consumer and their purchasing trend. It is recognized that the perception of risk is a fundamental part of the purchase intention and that is where other factors such as sociodemographic, behavioral, among others, trigger. / Trabajo de investigación

This study shows that managers of short-term insurers may improve their financial results if they can identify and manage the factors that are critical to their financial results. The development and application of the concept of critical success factors are therefore used as a basis for this study. The study reviews the functions performed by short-term insurers, focusing on the effect these functions have on their cash flows. Selection and pricing of risk are discussed in detail. The underwriting cycle in South Africa, and several possible causes of the cycle are investigated. Reinsurance, claims handling and rilanagement expenses are important components of the cash flows of short-term insurers and are therefore examined in detail. The optimum risk level at various combinations of underwriting and investment income is empirically tested, using the financial results of several insurers. The study investigates different approaches to the measurement of financial success of insurers, and the return on shareholders' funds is found to provide the fairest and most reliable method. Empirical comparisons are made on the financial results of the insurers that participated in the study to distinguish between those that are financially successful and those that are not. To discover what the industry consider to be their critical financial success factors, a postal survey was done of key decision makers in the South African short-term insurance industry. Respondents identified several success factors, but did not include some success factors discovered during the review of the literature. Respondents apparently experienced difficulty in separating strategic issues from operational ones. The survey revealed that the pricing of risk is problematic for short-term insurers. The importance of the investment function is also underestimated by the industry. The study concludes that the combined systematic risk of the investment and underwriting portfolios is a critical success factor, along with the capital base of the insurer, the ability of the insurer to use the leverage provided by using policyholders' funds as free reserves and the size and direction of an insurer's cash flows. / Business Management / D. Com (Business Management)

To date there is little evidence on the effect of property-liability (P-L) insurer's business strategy and organizational structure change on their frontier efficiency performance and productivity change. This issue is important since traditional theory assumes firms that minimizes cost and maximizes profit with more efficient strategy will survive in the long run. The main goal of this dissertation is to examine the efficiency performance in the U.S. P-L insurance industry using frontier efficiency and productivity methods. This dissertation consists of three essays on the efficiency studies. The first essay uses the data envelopment analysis to examine the efficiency performance and economies of scope for nonspecialists and specialists in the U.S. P-L insurance industry. The empirical evidence suggests that nonspecialists (specialists) dominate specialists (nonspecialists) in producing nonspecialists (specialists) input–output vectors and provide evidence for the coexistence of economies of scope and diseconomies of scope in the U.S. P-L insurance industry. Our second essay uses the stochastic frontier analysis to examine whether nonspecialized strategy dominates specialized strategy in the U.S. P-L insurance industry. The empirical evidence supports that both the nonspecialized hypothesis and the specialized hypothesis hold for different types of P-L insurers. Our third essay investigates whether the conversion of U.S. P-L insurers improves their efficiency performance before and after conversion. The empirical evidences of the value-added approach and the financial intermediary approach indicate that converting insurers experience improvement in their efficiency relative to mutual counter samples after the conversion, supporting the efficiency hypothesis proposed by Mayers and Smith (1986). Overall, the evidence of this dissertation shows that P-L insurer's diversification strategy and organizational structure change has significant impact on their frontier efficiency performance and productivity change.

Climate change has become one of the most debated environmental risks. The world is faced with the threat of weather variability. There has been an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. There is rising concern that weather losses might affect the sustainability of insurance businesses. The primary obective of the study was to ascertain the significance of changes in temperature, precipitation and wind speeds in explaining changes in weather-related claims.Furthermore the reseach had three key secondary objectives, firstly to find if changes in annual average temperature levels lead to changes in weather-related claims. Secondly to determine if average annual wind speeds lead to changes in weather-related loss .Thirdly to establish if the average changes in annual rainfall or precipitation levels lead to changes in weather-related claims. Quantitatively this study explored the relationship between climate change and weather losses in South Africa. Temperature, rainfall, and wind speed were the main weather variables analysed. Lack of properly recorded insured weather losses was the major challenge. Nonetheless, total economic weather losses were used as a proxy for insured weather losses.The analysis employed regression, cointegration and vector error correction models. Study findings showed that climate change is influencing weather losses. The existence of correlation and causality between weather variables and losses was also affirmed. Thus the insurance industry should comprehensively incorporate climate change into its business strategy to minimise exposure. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

This study shows that managers of short-term insurers may improve their financial results if they can identify and manage the factors that are critical to their financial results. The development and application of the concept of critical success factors are therefore used as a basis for this study. The study reviews the functions performed by short-term insurers, focusing on the effect these functions have on their cash flows. Selection and pricing of risk are discussed in detail. The underwriting cycle in South Africa, and several possible causes of the cycle are investigated. Reinsurance, claims handling and rilanagement expenses are important components of the cash flows of short-term insurers and are therefore examined in detail. The optimum risk level at various combinations of underwriting and investment income is empirically tested, using the financial results of several insurers. The study investigates different approaches to the measurement of financial success of insurers, and the return on shareholders' funds is found to provide the fairest and most reliable method. Empirical comparisons are made on the financial results of the insurers that participated in the study to distinguish between those that are financially successful and those that are not. To discover what the industry consider to be their critical financial success factors, a postal survey was done of key decision makers in the South African short-term insurance industry. Respondents identified several success factors, but did not include some success factors discovered during the review of the literature. Respondents apparently experienced difficulty in separating strategic issues from operational ones. The survey revealed that the pricing of risk is problematic for short-term insurers. The importance of the investment function is also underestimated by the industry. The study concludes that the combined systematic risk of the investment and underwriting portfolios is a critical success factor, along with the capital base of the insurer, the ability of the insurer to use the leverage provided by using policyholders' funds as free reserves and the size and direction of an insurer's cash flows. / Business Management / D. Com (Business Management)

The aim of this thesis is to enhance our understanding of Swedish marine insurers' choices of business strategies under the potentially difficult business circumstances of the interwar period 1918-1939. Little previous research exists on marine insurance during the interwar period. This is remarkable in the Swedish context since the Swedish economy has traditionally depended on its exports. The focus on Sweden is justified since the Swedish insurance market saw regulatory stability during the interwar period. It was also characterised by the coexistence of stock and mutual insurers, allowing this thesis to contribute with insights on potentially problematic insurance cartelisaton. This thesis employs a mixed methods design, including qualitative methods and regression analysis. To interpret results, this thesis employs insurance risk theory, cartel theory, theories on reinsurance and risk diversification, and agency theory. By employing this combination of theories, it is possible to explain choices and outcomes of adopted strategies both with reference to particularities of marine insurance and with reference to particularities of the two different organisational forms. The results show that the insurers conceived several new characteristics of their business environment as challenges and implemented both cartel strategies and company-specific strategies of risk diversification. Among the challenges were rapid inflation, rapidly decreasing prices and business volumes in shipping and trade, the introduction of motor ships, and the existence of naval mines on many trade routes. Also, exchange-rate fluctuations were considered to cause losses on established marine insurance contracts and rendered business results uncertain. Swedish insurers adopted cartel strategies from 1918 through The Swedish Association of Marine Underwriters (Sjöassuradörernas Förening) since they had anticipated a post-war crisis. Market division agreements were adopted for the most attractive market segments, but eventually price agreements became the primary cartel strategy, supported by prohibitions of competition. The work on price agreements sometimes increased the market efficiency since it reduced uncertainty, for instance in insurance of cargo with motor ships. Few price agreements were however adopted for the insurance of shipping since that market segment was dominated by mutual insurers, highlighting the difficulties of cartelisation in insurance markets inhabited by both stock and mutual insurers. The cartel further adopted reinsurance agreements to create barriers to entry in the Swedish marine insurance market. It however experienced prominent difficulties to implement the cartel strategies. One prominent difficulty of implementation was cheating. Also international competition created difficulties. The cartel companies therefore engaged in international cartelisation through The International Union of Marine Insurance (Internationaler Tranport-Versicherungs-Verband) from the late 1920s. This international cartel sought to reduce international competition by agreements not to compete in foreign markets. It also sought to manage the exchange-rate fluctuations of the early 1920s and the early 1930s by agreements among marine insurers, but it failed to obtain sufficient support. In spite of cartelisation, the returns on marine insurance were pushed down by the recognized challenges during the early 1920s, inflicting losses. The business however recovered and remained profitable throughout the 1930s, showing that the great depression was not as great as the deflation crisis in marine insurance. Exchange-rate fluctuations affected the international competitive strength of both stock and mutual insurers and additionally influenced the stock insurers' returns on established marine insurance contracts. The insurers were however compensated for the poor marine business results of the early 1920s by greater reliance than previously on reinsurers and by diversification among insurance lines, which rendered profits less negative than the returns on marine insurance. The business ceded to reinsurers on average inflicted losses during each of the first seven years of the 1920s. These losses were indirectly caused by World War I since that war had caused the establishment of new reinsurers in different countries, not the least in Scandinavia, and in turn caused over capacity during the 1920s. New contractual formulations evolved internationally to the benefit of ceding insurers, indicating information asymmetries. Exits became frequent among reinsurers. In effect, into the 1930s, ceding insurers internationally found it difficult to obtain obligatory reinsurance treaties. During the early 1920s, the Swedish stock marine insurers also increasingly diversified their insurance businesses among insurance lines. This process had been catalysed by World War I, was accelerated during the 1920s, and continued into the 1930s. / Syftet med denna avhandling är att förståeliggöra svenska marinförsäkringsbolags val av affärsstrategier under mellankrigstiden 1918-1939, en period som kännetecknades av potentiellt svåra affärsförhållanden. Försäkringsverksamhet är känslig för ekonomiska kriser, men har uppmärksammats mindre än bankverksamhet när det gäller mellankrigstiden. Inte minst marinförsäkring är känslig för ekonomiska kriser eftersom de försäkrade verksamheterna, sjöfart och handel, endast förekommer i den mån som transporterade varor efterfrågas. Tidigare forskning har endast i liten omfattning fokuserat på marinförsäkring, vilket ur ett svenskt perspektiv kan tyckas anmärkningsvärt med tanke på att den svenska ekonomin har i hög grad varit beroende av sjöburen handel. En studie av svensk marinförsäkring är motiverad ur ett internationellt perspektiv eftersom den svenska försäkringslagstiftningen förblev i stort sett oförändrad under perioden, vilket gör det rimligt att tolka marinförsäkringsbolags val av affärsstrategier som svar på ekonomiska omständigheter. Under mellankrigstiden var katellstrategier ett vanligt svar på svåra affärsförhållanden i olika verksamheter, men kartellisering var potentiellt problematisk i marinförsäkring eftersom den verksamheten är internationell och eftersom marinförsäkring är en heterogen produkt. Dessutom befolkades den svenska försäkringsmarknaden av både aktiebolag och ömsesidiga bolag, vilket är ett ytterligare potentiellt hinder för kartellisering. Studier av kartellisering under potentiallt svåra förutsättningar kan bidra med insikter om under vilka förutsättningar karteller uppstår, vilket ytterligare motiverar studien. Denna avhandling analyserar även två företagsspecifika riskdiversifieringsstrategier, som potentiellt kan kompensera för låg avkastning på mottagen försäkring, nämligen återförsäkring och diversifiering mellan försäkringsgrenar. Återförsäkring har av tidigare forskning framhållits som ett underutforskat område. Avhandlingen tillämpar både kvalitativa och kvantitativa undersökningsmetoder. För att uttolka de empiriska resultaten tillämpas riskteori för försäkring, kartellteori, återförsäkringsteori, riskdiversifieringsteori, samt incitamentsteori på företagsnivå (agency theory). Denna kombination av teorier gör det möjligt att förklara strategival med utgångspunkt både i marinförsäkringens karaktäristika och i de båda olika organisationsformers karaktäristika. Resultaten visar att försäkringsbolagen noterade ett antal nya affärsförhållanden som utmaningar och att dessa bolag implementerade både kartellstrategier och företagsspecifika riskdiversifieringsstrategier. Bland de noterade utmaningarna märks snabb inflation, snabbt fallande priser och affärsvolymer i sjöfart och handel, införandet av motorfartyg, samt sjöminor på många fartygsrutter. Försäkringsbolagen behärskade endast lite erfarenhet av risker associerade med motorfartyg och sjöminor, vilket gjorde riskbedömningar osäkra. Även växelkursfluktuationer uppfattades som utmaningar eftersom de orsakade förluster på etablerade marinförsäkringskontrakt och skapade problem att förutsäga affärsresultaten. Från 1918 antog svenska marinförsäkringsbolag kartellstrategier genom branschorganisationen Sjöassuradörernas Förening, detta eftersom de förväntade sig en efterkrigskris. Marknadsuppdelningsavtal infördes i attraktiva marknadssegment, men med tiden blev prisöverenskommelser den främsta kartellstrategin, understödd av avtal som förbjöd konkurrens. Arbetet med prisöverenskommelser ökade marknadseffektiviteten i vissa marknadssegment, detta genom att reducera osäkerheten i riskbedömningarna. Ett tydligt exempel på ett sådant marknadssegment är försäkring av varor transporterade med motorfartyg. Kartellen etablerade däremot få prisöverenskommelser för försäkring av sjöfart eftersom detta marknadssegment dominerades av ömsesidiga försäkringsbolag. Denna kontrast mellan varuförsäkring och sjöfartsförsäkring belyser svårigheterna med att kartellisera en försäkringsmarknad som befolkas både av aktiebolag och av ömsesidiga bolag. Kartellen antog också återförsäkringsavtal i syfte att skapa etableringshinder på den svenska försäkringsmarknaden. Den upplevde emellertid svårigheter att implementera överenskommelserna, såsom brott mot prisöverenskommelserna och mot konkurrensförbuden. Ytterligare svårigheter skapades av internationell konkurrens. Från slutet av 1920-talet deltog därför kartellbolagen i den internationella marinförsäkringskartellen Internationaler Tranport-Versicherungs-Verband (senare benämnd The International Union of Marine Insurance). Medlemsbolagen i denna internationella kartell skapade överenskommelser med innebörden att utländska försäkringstagare inte skulle erbjudas försäkring. Dessa överenskommelser syftade till att reducera den internationella konkurrensen. Denna kartell försökte också reducera effekterna för marinförsäkringsbolag av växelkursfluktuationer genom överenskommelser om hur växelkurser skulle beräknas i marinförsäkringsfrågor. Sådana försök gjordes både under de första åren av 1920-talet och under de första åren av 1930-talet. Det avsedda resultatet kunde emellertid inte nås, detta eftersom uppslutningen förblev otillräcklig. Trots kartelliseringen reducerades avkastningen på marinförsäkring till förlustnivåer under det tidiga 1920-talet. Avkastningen förbättrades sedan stegvis och förblev positiv under 1930-talet. I marinförsäkring var alltså den stora depression inte lika stor som deflationskrisen. Växelkursfluktuationer påverkade både aktiebolags och ömsesidiga bolags internationella konkurrenskraft. Dessutom påverkade växelkurserna aktiebolagens avkastning på etablerade marinförsäkringskontrakt. Försäkringsbolagen kompenserades för 1920-talets förlustresultat i marinförsäkring genom ökad cedering av risk till återförsäkringsbolag och genom diversifiering av de mottagna riskerna mellan olika försäkringsgrenar. Under 1920-talet var bolagens vinster därför mindre negativa än resultaten i marinförsäkring. Den affär som cederades till återförsäkringsbolag var i genomsnitt förlustbringande under vart och ett av 1920-talets första sju år. Dessa förluster orsakades indirekt av första världskriget, eftersom det kriget stimulerade etablering av nya återförsäkringsbolag, detta i olika länder och inte minst i Skandinavien. I förlängningen skapade första världskriget därmed överkapacitet på återförsäkringsmarknaden. Nya kontraktsformuleringar introducerades internationellt till de cederande bolagens fördel. Detta förhållande indikerar informationsasymmetrier i relationen mellan cederande och mottagande försäkringsbolag. Många återförsäkringsbolag lämnade marknaden. Resultatet blev att cederande bolag under början av 1930-talet i olika länder fick svårigheter att sluta obligatoriska återförsäkringsavtal. Under början av 1920-talet diversifierade aktiebolagen också sin verksamhet mellan olika försäkringsgrenar. Denna process katalyserades av första världskriget, accelererade under början av 1920-talet och fortsatte in på 1930-talet.