The determinants that affect the financial performance of an insurance company are complicated due to the intangible nature of insurance products and the lack of transparency in the market. Consequently, the financial performance of insurance companies is important to various stakeholders such as policyholders, insurance intermediaries and policymakers. This study aims to investigate the determinants of financial performance of insurance companies based on their financial strength rating performance. The empirical data are drawn from A.M. Best Insurance Report Online: Non- US Database. The sample consists of 57 insurers in the United Kingdom over the period of 2006 to 2010. The analyses include eight firm-specific variables, which are leverage, profitability, liquidity, size, reinsurance, growth, type of business and organisational form. Rating transition matrices and regression models are employed in this study. Rating transition analysis demonstrates a significant degree of rating changes, as reflected in the rating fluctuations. Based on the empirical results, this study establishes that profitability, liquidity, size and organisational form are statistically significant determinants of financial performance of insurance companies in the United Kingdom. This study recommends an alternative to measure the size of an insurance company, which is based on the gross premium written. In addition, this study provides insights into the effects of the global financial crisis on the financial performance of the insurance companies.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:725640 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Jadi, Diara Md |
| Publisher | University of Bradford |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/10454/14383 |
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