IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spt/apfiba/v10y2020i3f10_3_9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Product Diversification on Risk-taking Behavior in Property and Liability Insurance Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Chen-Ying Lee

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze product diversification and risk taking behavior with a comprehensive look at the property-liability (P-L) insurance operations for a developing economic environment. Using a panel data to examine the impact of product diversification and risk taking behavior in Taiwanese P-L insurers. The study finds that product diversification is significantly negatively related to the risk taking behavior of P-L insurers, which implies that product diversification reduces the risk inherent in each business line and ultimately the overall portfolio risk. The results are consistent with the portfolio theory in finance. I find that firm growth, long-tail line and financial holdings have significant impacts on underwriting risk. Furthermore, the firm age, insurance leverage, long-tail line, ROI, and liquidity ratio have significant effects on leverage risk. The study provides some valuable insights into the effects of diversification and risk taking behavior of P-L insurers in a developing country as well as for the improvement of insurance regulation policy in Taiwan. JEL classification numbers: C23, G22, L25.Keywords: Risk-taking, Product diversification, Property-liability insurance.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen-Ying Lee, 2020. "The Impact of Product Diversification on Risk-taking Behavior in Property and Liability Insurance Firms," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 10(3), pages 1-9.
    • Handle: RePEc:spt:apfiba:v:10:y:2020:i:3:f:10_3_9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.scienpress.com/Upload/JAFB%2fVol%2010_3_9.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Galai, Dan & Masulis, Ronald W., 1976. "The option pricing model and the risk factor of stock," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(1-2), pages 53-81.
    2. Rotemberg, Julio J & Saloner, Garth, 1994. "Benefits of Narrow Business Strategies," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(5), pages 1330-1349, December.
    3. Jiang Cheng & Mary A Weiss, 2013. "Risk-Based Capital and Firm Risk Taking in Property-Liability Insurance," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 38(2), pages 274-307, April.
    4. Cummins, J. David & Tennyson, Sharon & Weiss, Mary A., 1999. "Consolidation and efficiency in the US life insurance industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(2-4), pages 325-357, February.
    5. Owen A. Lamont & Christopher Polk, 2001. "The Diversification Discount: Cash Flows Versus Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(5), pages 1693-1721, October.
    6. J. David Cummins & Mary A. Weiss, 2014. "Systemic Risk and The U.S. Insurance Sector," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 81(3), pages 489-528, September.
    7. Anginer, Deniz & Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Zhu, Min, 2014. "How does competition affect bank systemic risk?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 1-26.
    8. Koehn, Michael & Santomero, Anthony M, 1980. "Regulation of Bank Capital and Portfolio Risk," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 35(5), pages 1235-1244, December.
    9. Viral V. Acharya & Iftekhar Hasan & Anthony Saunders, 2006. "Should Banks Be Diversified? Evidence from Individual Bank Loan Portfolios," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(3), pages 1355-1412, May.
    10. Catherine Schrand & Haluk Unal, 1998. "Hedging and Coordinated Risk Management: Evidence from Thrift Conversions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 53(3), pages 979-1013, June.
    11. Raghuram Rajan & Henri Servaes & Luigi Zingales, 2000. "The Cost of Diversity: The Diversification Discount and Inefficient Investment," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(1), pages 35-80, February.
    12. Meng-Fen Hsieh & Chien-Chiang Lee & Shih-Jui Yang, 2015. "The Impact of Diversification on Performance in the Insurance Industry: The Roles of Globalisation, Financial Reforms and Global Crisis," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 40(4), pages 585-631, October.
    13. David Cummins, J. & Sommer, David W., 1996. "Capital and risk in property-liability insurance markets," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 1069-1092, July.
    14. Che, Xin & Liebenberg, Andre P., 2017. "Effects of business diversification on asset risk-taking: Evidence from the U.S. property-liability insurance industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 122-136.
    15. L. Paige Fields & Manu Gupta & Puneet Prakash, 2012. "Risk Taking and Performance of Public Insurers: An International Comparison," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 79(4), pages 931-962, December.
    16. Hassan, M. Kabir & Karels, Gordon V. & Peterson, Manfred O., 1994. "Deposit insurance, market discipline and off-balance sheet banking risk of large U.S. commercial banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 575-593, May.
    17. Mayers, David & Smith, Clifford W, Jr, 1990. "On the Corporate Demand for Insurance: Evidence from the Reinsurance Market," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 63(1), pages 19-40, January.
    18. Lewellen, Wilbur G, 1971. "A Pure Financial Rationale for the Conglomerate Merger," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 26(2), pages 521-537, May.
    19. Andreas Milidonis & Takeshi Nishikawa & Jeungbo Shim, 2019. "CEO Inside Debt and Risk Taking: Evidence From Property–Liability Insurance Firms," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 86(2), pages 451-477, June.
    20. Yung‐Ming Shiu, 2011. "Reinsurance and Capital Structure: Evidence From the United Kingdom Non‐Life Insurance Industry," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 78(2), pages 475-494, June.
    21. J. Cummins & Gregory Nini, 2002. "Optimal Capital Utilization by Financial Firms: Evidence from the Property-Liability Insurance Industry," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 21(1), pages 15-53, February.
    22. Martin, John D. & Sayrak, Akin, 2003. "Corporate diversification and shareholder value: a survey of recent literature," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 37-57, January.
    23. Brewer, Elijah III, 1989. "Relationship between bank holding company risk and nonbank activity," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 337-353, November.
    24. Renbao Chen & Kie Ann Wong, 2004. "The Determinants of Financial Health of Asian Insurance Companies," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 71(3), pages 469-499, September.
    25. Shi Hong & Shizhe Bao, 2015. "Guaranty Funds, Government Shareholding and Risk Taking: Evidence from China," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 40(4), pages 653-677, October.
    26. Philip Hardwick, 1997. "Measuring cost inefficiency in the UK life insurance industry," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 37-44.
    27. Patrick Behr & Reinhard Schmidt & Ru Xie, 2010. "Market Structure, Capital Regulation and Bank Risk Taking," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 37(2), pages 131-158, June.
    28. Abdul Latif Alhassan & Nicholas Biekpe, 2018. "Competition and Risk-Taking Behaviour in the Non-Life Insurance Market in South Africa," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 43(3), pages 492-519, July.
    29. Etti Baranoff & Thomas Sager, 2003. "The Relations among Organizational and Distribution Forms and Capital and Asset Risk Structures in the Life Insurance Industry," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 70(3), pages 375-400, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aivazian, Varouj A. & Qiu, Jiaping & Rahaman, Mohammad M., 2015. "Bank loan contracting and corporate diversification: Does organizational structure matter to lenders?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 252-282.
    2. Che, Xin & Liebenberg, Andre P., 2017. "Effects of business diversification on asset risk-taking: Evidence from the U.S. property-liability insurance industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 122-136.
    3. Abdul Latif Alhassan & Nicholas Biekpe, 2018. "Competition and Risk-Taking Behaviour in the Non-Life Insurance Market in South Africa," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 43(3), pages 492-519, July.
    4. Ignacio Moreno & Purificación Parrado‐Martínez & Antonio Trujillo‐Ponce, 2020. "Economic crisis and determinants of solvency in the insurance sector: new evidence from Spain," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(3), pages 2965-2994, September.
    5. Ching-Yuan Hsiao & Yung-Ming Shiu, 2019. "The effects of business mix on internal and external reinsurance usage," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 44(4), pages 624-652, October.
    6. Hsiao, Ching-Yuan & Shiu, Yung-Ming, 2023. "Risk-sharing function in internal capital markets: Evidence from intragroup reinsurance activities," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    7. Hung, Jessica & Chang, Vincent Y. L., 2018. "The analysis of capital structure for propertyliability insurers: A quantile regression approach," Business and Economic Horizons (BEH), Prague Development Center, vol. 14(4), pages 829-850, August.
    8. McShane, Michael K. & Cox, Larry A. & Butler, Richard J., 2010. "Regulatory competition and forbearance: Evidence from the life insurance industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 522-532, March.
    9. Selim Mankaï & Aymen Belgacem, 2013. "Interactions Between Risk-Taking, Capital, and Reinsurance for Property-Liability Insurance Firms," EconomiX Working Papers 2013-23, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    10. Haykel Zouaoui & Faten Zoghlami, 2023. "What do we know about the impact of income diversification on bank performance? A systematic literature review," Journal of Banking Regulation, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 24(3), pages 286-309, September.
    11. Andre P. Liebenberg & David W. Sommer, 2008. "Effects of Corporate Diversification: Evidence From the Property–Liability Insurance Industry," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 75(4), pages 893-919, December.
    12. B. Elango & Yu‐Luen Ma & Nat Pope, 2008. "An Investigation Into the Diversification–Performance Relationship in the U.S. Property–Liability Insurance Industry," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 75(3), pages 567-591, September.
    13. Jeungbo Shim, 2011. "Mergers & Acquisitions, Diversification and Performance in the U.S. Property-Liability Insurance Industry," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 119-144, June.
    14. Cheng, Louis T.W. & Leung, T.Y., 2004. "A comparative analysis of the market-based and accounting-based performance of diversifying and non-diversifying acquisitions in Hong Kong," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(6), pages 763-789, December.
    15. Hsiao, Ching-Yuan & Shiu, Yung-Ming, 2021. "Group firms’ access to internal capital markets: The contingent roles of group resources and affiliates’ financial weakness," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 135-156.
    16. Thomas R. Berry-Stölzle & Robert E. Hoyt & Sabine Wende, 2013. "Capital Market Development, Competition, Property Rights, and the Value of Insurer Product-Line Diversification: A Cross-Country Analysis," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 80(2), pages 423-459, June.
    17. Vincent Y. Chang, 2019. "Does reinsurance purchasing enhance insurers’ competitiveness? Evidence from the U.S. property–liability insurance industry," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 44(4), pages 595-623, October.
    18. Chia-Ling Ho & Gene Lai & Sangyong Han & Licheng Jin, 2022. "Organisational structure, corporate governance and reinsurance decisions in the U.S. property-liability insurance industry," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 47(4), pages 737-784, October.
    19. Mohamed Azzim Gulamhussen & Carlos Pinheiro & Alberto Franco Pozzolo, 2010. "Do multinational banks create or destroy economic value?," Mo.Fi.R. Working Papers 36, Money and Finance Research group (Mo.Fi.R.) - Univ. Politecnica Marche - Dept. Economic and Social Sciences.
    20. Jose Manuel Campa & Simi Kedia, 2002. "Explaining the Diversification Discount," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(4), pages 1731-1762, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    risk-taking; product diversification; property-liability insurance.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • G22 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spt:apfiba:v:10:y:2020:i:3:f:10_3_9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Eleftherios Spyromitros-Xioufis (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.scienpress.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.