Zur Vorteilhaftigkeit von Kapitallebensversicherungen gegenüber alternativen Anlageformen — Eine Analyse aus Anlegersicht

Summary In Germany the most important life insurance product is the endowment policy. The insurance buyer makes regular (annual or monthly) premium payments and receives a payment when he dies, cancels within the contract period, or survives the contract. Contracts typically cover a time period between twelve to forty years. Using the perspective of an investor, i.e., a buyer of the life insurance contract, our study compares the cash flows of German endowment insurance policies with those of investment portfolios with similar pay-off structures. Our empirical analysis is based on data from 12 year contract periods between the years 1956 through 1999 for 51 year old males. Instead of basing the comparison of the life insurance and the alternative portfolio on a single performance figure, for example, yield-to-maturity or terminal value, we look directly at the cash flows. Our analysis shows that life insurance contracts provided higher payments than the alternative portfolios if the actual contract length was at least seven or eight years and if tax effects were taken into account. The study also shows that life insurance contracts underperform the alternative portfolios considerably if they are cancelled during their early years. Therefore, an ultimate evaluation has to be based on the characteristics of the individual who considers such an investment.