IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbfina/v77y2017icp122-136.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effects of business diversification on asset risk-taking: Evidence from the U.S. property-liability insurance industry

Author

Listed:
  • Che, Xin
  • Liebenberg, Andre P.

Abstract

We investigate the effect of line-of-business diversification on asset risk-taking in the U.S. property-liability industry. The coordinated risk management hypothesis (Schrand and Unal, 1998) implies a negative relation between underwriting risk and investment risk. Consistent with this hypothesis we find that diversified insurers take more asset risk than non-diversified insurers, and that the degree of asset risk-taking is positively related to diversification extent. Our results are robust to corrections for potential endogeneity bias, selectivity bias, and alternative diversification and asset risk measures. We also provide event study evidence that further supports the coordinated risk management hypothesis. Specifically, we find that when a focused firm diversifies, it increases its asset risk relative to firms that remain focused, and when a diversified firm refocuses, it reduces its asset risk relative to firms that remain diversified.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbfina:v:77:y:2017:i:c:p:122-136
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2017.01.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378426617300080
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2017.01.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rebecca N. Hann & Maria Ogneva & Oguzhan Ozbas, 2013. "Corporate Diversification and the Cost of Capital," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(5), pages 1961-1999, October.
    2. Chia-Ling Ho & Gene C. Lai & Jin-Ping Lee, 2013. "Organizational Structure, Board Composition, and Risk Taking in the U.S. Property Casualty Insurance Industry," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 80(1), pages 169-203, March.
    3. Belén Villalonga, 2004. "Diversification Discount or Premium? New Evidence from the Business Information Tracking Series," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 59(2), pages 479-506, April.
    4. Laeven, Luc & Levine, Ross, 2007. "Is there a diversification discount in financial conglomerates?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(2), pages 331-367, August.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. Venkat Kuppuswamy & Belén Villalonga, 2016. "Does Diversification Create Value in the Presence of External Financing Constraints? Evidence from the 2007–2009 Financial Crisis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(4), pages 905-923, April.
    9. Berger, Allen N. & Cummins, J. David & Weiss, Mary A. & Zi, Hongmin, 2000. "Conglomeration versus Strategic Focus: Evidence from the Insurance Industry," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 323-362, October.
    10. An Yan, 2006. "Value of Conglomerates and Capital Market Conditions," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 35(4), Winter.
    11. Wruck, Karen Hopper, 1989. "Equity ownership concentration and firm value : Evidence from private equity financings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 3-28, June.
    12. 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.
    13. Allayannis, George & Weston, James P, 2001. "The Use of Foreign Currency Derivatives and Firm Market Value," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 14(1), pages 243-276.
    14. Cummins, J. David & Weiss, Mary A. & Xie, Xiaoying & Zi, Hongmin, 2010. "Economies of scope in financial services: A DEA efficiency analysis of the US insurance industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1525-1539, July.
    15. Jose Manuel Campa & Simi Kedia, 2002. "Explaining the Diversification Discount," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(4), pages 1731-1762, August.
    16. Froot, Kenneth A & Scharfstein, David S & Stein, Jeremy C, 1993. "Risk Management: Coordinating Corporate Investment and Financing Policies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 48(5), pages 1629-1658, December.
    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. Hund, John & Monk, Donald & Tice, Sheri, 2010. "Uncertainty about average profitability and the diversification discount," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(3), pages 463-484, June.
    19. Thomas R. Berry-Stölzle & Andre P. Liebenberg & Joseph S. Ruhland & David W. Sommer, 2012. "Determinants of Corporate Diversification: Evidence From the Property–Liability Insurance Industry," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 79(2), pages 381-413, June.
    20. 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.
    21. Ran Duchin, 2010. "Cash Holdings and Corporate Diversification," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(3), pages 955-992, June.
    22. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1988. "Management ownership and market valuation," Scholarly Articles 29407535, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    23. L. Lee Colquitt & Larry A. Cox, 1999. "The Efficacy Of Regulators' Estimates Of Life Insurer Portfolio Risk," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 2(2), pages 1-13, January.
    24. 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.
    25. Michael K. McShane & Tao Zhang & Larry A. Cox, 2012. "Risk Allocation across the Enterprise: Evidence from the Insurance Industry," Journal of Insurance Issues, Western Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 35(1), pages 73-99.
    26. Demsetz, Rebecca S & Strahan, Philip E, 1997. "Diversification, Size, and Risk at Bank Holding Companies," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 29(3), pages 300-313, August.
    27. Steven W. Pottier, 2007. "The Determinants of Private Debt Holdings: Evidence From the Life Insurance Industry," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 74(3), pages 591-612, September.
    28. Tong, Zhenxu, 2011. "Firm diversification and the value of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 741-758, June.
    29. Lang, Larry H P & Stulz, Rene M, 1994. "Tobin's q, Corporate Diversification, and Firm Performance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(6), pages 1248-1280, December.
    30. Yan, An & Yang, Zaihui & Jiao, Jie, 2010. "Conglomerate investment under various capital market conditions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 103-115, January.
    31. Valentin Dimitrov & Sheri Tice, 2006. "Corporate Diversification and Credit Constraints: Real Effects across the Business Cycle," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 19(4), pages 1465-1498.
    32. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 1988. "Management ownership and market valuation : An empirical analysis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1-2), pages 293-315, January.
    33. An Yan, 2006. "Value of Conglomerates and Capital Market Conditions," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 35(4), pages 5-30, December.
    34. Gaver, Jennifer J. & Paterson, Jeffrey S., 2004. "Do insurers manipulate loss reserves to mask solvency problems?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 393-416, September.
    35. Smith, Clifford W. & Stulz, René M., 1985. "The Determinants of Firms' Hedging Policies," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(4), pages 391-405, December.
    36. Jennifer J. Gaver & Steven W. Pottier, 2005. "The Role of Holding Company Financial Information in the Insurer‐Rating Process: Evidence From the Property‐Liability Industry," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 72(1), pages 77-103, March.
    37. Servaes, Henri, 1996. "The Value of Diversification during the Conglomerate Merger Wave," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 51(4), pages 1201-1225, September.
    38. Mayers, David & Smith, Clifford W, Jr, 1982. "On the Corporate Demand for Insurance," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 55(2), pages 281-296, April.
    39. 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)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Onali, Enrico & Mascia, Danilo V., 2022. "Corporate diversification and stock risk: Evidence from a global shock," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    2. Eling, Martin & Jia, Ruo, 2018. "Business failure, efficiency, and volatility: Evidence from the European insurance industry," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 58-76.
    3. Omonijo & O.S . & Egwakhe & A.J . & Akande & F.P . & Umukoro & E.J, 2022. "Corporate Entrepreneurship and Market Share of Selected Polyurethane Manufacturing Companies in Lagos State, Nigeria," International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, vol. 12(2), pages 169-181.
    4. Bharathkumar, Sai Ranjani & Gupta, Santanu, 2020. "Simplex representation of insurance performance analysis," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 419-436.
    5. Courtney B. Baggett & Cassandra R. Cole, 2023. "Insurance groups, product diversification, and the role of surplus lines affiliation," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 26(1), pages 35-56, March.
    6. Patty Duijm & Ilke Van Beveren, 2022. "Product diversification as a performance boosting strategy? Drivers and impact of diversification strategies in the property‐liability insurance industry," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 25(3), pages 303-328, September.
    7. Sunghan Bae & Andre P. Liebenberg & Ivonne A. Liebenberg, 2023. "Equity Investment Decisions of Operating Firms: Evidence from Property and Liability Insurers," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-24, April.
    8. Jordan KJOSEVSKI & Mihail PETKOVSKI & Kiril SIMEONOVSKI, 2022. "The Effects of Individual and Economic Risks and Stress Testing of Non-Life Sector Profitability: The Case of the NorthMacedonian Insurance Sector," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 0(2), pages 125-144, April.
    9. Xiaoying Xie & Charles Lee & Martin Eling, 2020. "Cyber insurance offering and performance: an analysis of the U.S. cyber insurance market," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 45(4), pages 690-736, October.
    10. 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.
    11. Xiaoying Xie & Charles Lee & Martin Eling, 0. "Cyber insurance offering and performance: an analysis of the U.S. cyber insurance market," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 0, pages 1-47.
    12. Omonijo & O.S. & Egwakhe & A.J . & Akande & F.P. & Umukoro & E.J, 2022. "Corporate Entrepreneurship and Market Share of Selected Polyurethane Manufacturing Companies in Lagos State, Nigeria," International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, vol. 12(2), pages 183-195.
    13. Xin Che & Stephen G. Fier & Andre P. Liebenberg, 2019. "The effect of predation risk on cash holdings: Empirical evidence from the U.S. property‐liability insurance industry," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 22(3), pages 329-358, September.
    14. Baltuttis, Dennik & Töppel, Jannick & Tränkler, Timm & Wiethe, Christian, 2020. "Managing the risks of energy efficiency insurances in a portfolio context: An actuarial diversification approach," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    15. Lei Peng & Zhaotong Lian, 2021. "Diversification and efficiency of life insurers in China and India," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 46(4), pages 710-730, October.
    16. Jen-Yin Yeh & Hsin-Yu Chiu & Jhih-Huei Huang, 2023. "Predicting Failure of P2P Lending Platforms through Machine Learning: The Case in China," Papers 2311.14577, arXiv.org.
    17. Rasoulian Mohsen & Ghannadi Ali Akhavan & Nojoomi Alireza, 2018. "Risk Taking of Life Insurance Companies from the Perspective of Senior Managers and Experts," Baltic Journal of Real Estate Economics and Construction Management, Sciendo, vol. 6(1), pages 144-151, October.

    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. Stefan Erdorf & Thomas Hartmann-Wendels & Nicolas Heinrichs & Michael Matz, 2013. "Corporate diversification and firm value: a survey of recent literature," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 27(2), pages 187-215, June.
    2. 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).
    3. 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.
    4. Volkov, Nikanor I. & Smith, Garrett C., 2015. "Corporate diversification and firm value during economic downturns," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 160-175.
    5. Ivonne A. Liebenberg & Zhilu Lin, 2019. "The Effect of Diversification under Different Ownership Structures and Economic Conditions: Evidence from the Great Recession," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-26, May.
    6. 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.
    7. Patrick Bielstein & Mario Fischer & Christoph Kaserer, 2018. "The cost of capital effect of M&A transactions: Disentangling coinsurance from the diversification discount," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 24(4), pages 650-679, September.
    8. 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.
    9. Jin Lung Peng & Lih Ru Chen & Jennifer L. Wang & Larry Y. Tzeng, 2017. "Diversification Versus Strategic Focus: Evidence from Insurance Intermediaries in Taiwan," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 42(3), pages 530-555, July.
    10. Michael K. McShane & Larry A. Cox, 2009. "Issuance Decisions and Strategic Focus: The Case of Long‐Term Care Insurance," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 76(1), pages 87-108, March.
    11. Patty Duijm & Ilke Van Beveren, 2022. "Product diversification as a performance boosting strategy? Drivers and impact of diversification strategies in the property‐liability insurance industry," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 25(3), pages 303-328, September.
    12. Jiaqi Jiang & Yun Feng, 2021. "The interaction of risk management tools: Financial hedging, corporate diversification and liquidity," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 2396-2413, April.
    13. Söhnke M. Bartram & Gregory W. Brown & Frank R. Fehle, 2009. "International Evidence on Financial Derivatives Usage," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 38(1), pages 185-206, March.
    14. Hyoung-Goo Kang & Richard M. Burton & Will Mitchell, 2021. "How firm boundaries and relatedness jointly affect diversification value: trade-offs between governance and flexibility," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 1-34, March.
    15. Bai, Min & Fu, Yumei & Sun, Mingwei, 2023. "Corporate diversification and labor investment efficiency: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    16. Fauver, Larry & Naranjo, Andy, 2010. "Derivative usage and firm value: The influence of agency costs and monitoring problems," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 719-735, December.
    17. Kim, Huong Trang & Papanastassiou, Marina & Nguyen, Quang, 2017. "Multinationals and the impact of corruption on financial derivatives use and firm value: Evidence from East Asia," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 39-59.
    18. Yan, An & Yang, Zaihui & Jiao, Jie, 2010. "Conglomerate investment under various capital market conditions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 103-115, January.
    19. Atanas Mihov & Andy Naranjo, 2019. "Corporate internationalization, subsidiary locations, and the cost of equity capital," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(9), pages 1544-1565, December.
    20. Siraj, Ibrahim & Hassan, M. Kabir & Maroney, Neal, 2020. "Product demand sensitivity and the corporate diversification discount," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Insurance; Diversification; Asset risk;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G22 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G39 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Other
    • M49 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Other

    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:eee:jbfina:v:77:y:2017:i:c:p:122-136. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbf .

    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.