IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/reveco/v88y2023icp874-890.html

How does actual relative to target leverage affect reinsurance use?

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Xiaoyi
  • Shiu, Yung-Ming

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between capital structure deviation and reinsurance use. Prior studies on capital structures and hedging focus on how actual leverage is related to risk management tools. Using a sample of U.S. property–liability insurers from 2002 to 2021 and a simultaneous equations model, we argue and find that for overleveraged (underleveraged) insurers, the higher the actual leverage, the more (less) reinsurance use. Collectively, insurers with more deviations from their target leverages tend to purchase more reinsurance. Our evidence indicates that such capital structure deviations play an important role in dictating reinsurance use. We also find that these relationships are moderated by external shocks, including financial crises, catastrophic and pandemic events. The results imply that regulators may pay close attention to not only insurers’ actual leverages level but also their capital structure deviations, which could potientilly cause financial insolvency.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Xiaoyi & Shiu, Yung-Ming, 2023. "How does actual relative to target leverage affect reinsurance use?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 874-890.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:88:y:2023:i:c:p:874-890
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2023.07.028
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059056023002381
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.iref.2023.07.028?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Im, Hyun Joong & Faff, Robert & Ha, Chang Yong, 2022. "Uncertainty, investment spikes, and corporate leverage adjustments," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    2. Soku Byoun, 2008. "How and When Do Firms Adjust Their Capital Structures toward Targets?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(6), pages 3069-3096, December.
    3. 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.
    4. Flannery, Mark J. & Rangan, Kasturi P., 2006. "Partial adjustment toward target capital structures," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(3), pages 469-506, March.
    5. Armen Hovakimian, 2004. "The Role of Target Leverage in Security Issues and Repurchases," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 77(4), pages 1041-1072, October.
    6. He, Wen & Hu, Maggie Rong & Mi, Lin & Yu, Jin, 2021. "How stable are corporate capital structures? International evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    7. Ge, Shan & Weisbach, Michael S., 2021. "The role of financial conditions in portfolio choices: The case of insurers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 803-830.
    8. 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.
    9. Fier, Stephen G. & McCullough, Kathleen A. & Carson, James M., 2013. "Internal capital markets and the partial adjustment of leverage," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 1029-1039.
    10. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R., 2001. "The theory and practice of corporate finance: evidence from the field," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2-3), pages 187-243, May.
    11. Arthur Korteweg, 2010. "The Net Benefits to Leverage," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(6), pages 2137-2170, December.
    12. Vo, Thuy Anh & Mazur, Mieszko & Thai, An, 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 economic crisis on the speed of adjustment toward target leverage ratio: An international analysis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    13. Mark T. Leary & Michael R. Roberts, 2005. "Do Firms Rebalance Their Capital Structures?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(6), pages 2575-2619, December.
    14. de Haan, Leo & Kakes, Jan, 2010. "Are non-risk based capital requirements for insurance companies binding?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1618-1627, July.
    15. Lawrence Powell & David Sommer, 2007. "Internal Versus External Capital Markets in the Insurance Industry: The Role of Reinsurance," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 31(2), pages 173-188, June.
    16. John R. Graham & Daniel A. Rogers, 2002. "Do Firms Hedge in Response to Tax Incentives?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(2), pages 815-839, April.
    17. Vineet Upreti & Mike Adams & Yihui Jia, 2022. "Risk management and the cost of equity: evidence from the United Kingdom’s non-life insurance market," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(6), pages 551-570, April.
    18. Lamm-Tennant, Joan & Starks, Laura T, 1993. "Stock versus Mutual Ownership Structures: The Risk Implications," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66(1), pages 29-46, January.
    19. Uysal, Vahap B., 2011. "Deviation from the target capital structure and acquisition choices," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(3), pages 602-620.
    20. J. David Cummins & Mary A. Weiss, 2016. "Equity Capital, Internal Capital Markets, and Optimal Capital Structure in the US Property-Casualty Insurance Industry," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 8(1), pages 121-153, October.
    21. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    22. 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.
    23. Hovakimian, Armen & Hovakimian, Gayane & Tehranian, Hassan, 2004. "Determinants of target capital structure: The case of dual debt and equity issues," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 517-540, March.
    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. Xiaoyi Li & Yung-Ming Shiu, 2025. "Does reinsurance affect capital structure deviations? Evidence from US property–casualty insurers," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 50(4), pages 881-905, October.
    2. Altuntas, Muhammed & Berry-Stölzle, Thomas R. & Wende, Sabine, 2015. "Does one size fit all? Determinants of insurer capital structure around the globe," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 251-271.
    3. Aflatooni, Abbas & Ghaderi, Kaveh & Mansouri, Kefsan, 2022. "Sanctions against Iran, political connections and speed of adjustment," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(PB).
    4. Fier, Stephen G. & McCullough, Kathleen A. & Carson, James M., 2013. "Internal capital markets and the partial adjustment of leverage," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 1029-1039.
    5. 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.
    6. Zhou, Qing & Tan, Kelvin Jui Keng & Faff, Robert & Zhu, Yushu, 2016. "Deviation from target capital structure, cost of equity and speed of adjustment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 99-120.
    7. Wenfei Li & Cen Wu & Liping Xu & Qingquan Tang, 2017. "Bank connections and the speed of leverage adjustment: evidence from China's listed firms," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57(5), pages 1349-1381, December.
    8. Xiaoyi Li & Yung-Ming Shiu, 2021. "Reinsurance, debt capacity and financial flexibility," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 46(4), pages 664-687, October.
    9. Ha Thanh Nguyen & Balachandran Muniandy & Darren Henry, 2024. "Adjustment speed of capital structure: A literature survey of empirical research," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 49(3), pages 448-477, August.
    10. Rehman, Obaid Ur & Wu, Kai & Liu, Jia, 2024. "COVID-19 exposure, financial flexibility, and corporate leverage adjustment," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    11. An, Zhe & Chen, Chen & Li, Donghui & Yin, Chao, 2021. "Foreign institutional ownership and the speed of leverage adjustment: International evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    12. Devos, Erik & Rahman, Shofiqur & Tsang, Desmond, 2017. "Debt covenants and the speed of capital structure adjustment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-18.
    13. Shofiqur Rahman, 2020. "Credit supply and capital structure adjustments," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 49(4), pages 949-972, December.
    14. Dang, Tung Lam & Dang, Viet Anh & Moshirian, Fariborz & Nguyen, Lily & Zhang, Bohui, 2019. "News media coverage and corporate leverage adjustments," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    15. Hasibul Chowdhury & Shofiqur Rahman & Harikumar Sankaran, 2021. "Leverage deviation from the target debt ratio and leasing," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(2), pages 3481-3515, June.
    16. Selim Mankaï & Aymen Belgacem, 2016. "Interactions Between Risk Taking, Capital, and Reinsurance for Property–Liability Insurance Firms," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 83(4), pages 1007-1043, December.
    17. Faulkender, Michael & Flannery, Mark J. & Hankins, Kristine Watson & Smith, Jason M., 2012. "Cash flows and leverage adjustments," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(3), pages 632-646.
    18. Alaa Guidara & Van Son Lai & Min-Teh Yu & Yang Zhao, 2025. "How do underwriting and investment activities affect P&C insurers’ capital adjustments? Evidence from Canada," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 64(2), pages 575-594, February.
    19. Tongxia Li & Chun Lu, 2023. "Local social environment and the speed of leverage adjustment," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(2), pages 1919-1952, June.
    20. Versmissen, J. & Zietz, J., 2017. "Is there a leverage target for REITs?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 57-69.

    More about this item

    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

    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:reveco:v:88:y:2023:i:c:p:874-890. 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/inca/620165 .

    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.