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Raising capital in an insurance oligopoly market

Author

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  • Julien Hardelin

    (X-DEP-ECO - Département d'Économie de l'École Polytechnique - X - École polytechnique, AgroParisTech)

  • Sabine Lemoyne de Forges

    (X-DEP-ECO - Département d'Économie de l'École Polytechnique - X - École polytechnique, AgroParisTech)

Abstract

We consider an oligopoly of firms that compete on price. Firms produce a non-stochastic output, insurance coverage, which is sold before the true cost is known. They behave as if they were risk-averse for a standard reason of costly external finance. The model consists in a two-stage game. At stage 1, each firm chooses its internal capital level. At stage 2, firms compete on price. We characterize the conditions for Nash equilibria and analyze the strategic impact of capital choice on the market. We discuss the model with regard to insurance industry specificity and regulation.

Suggested Citation

  • Julien Hardelin & Sabine Lemoyne de Forges, 2009. "Raising capital in an insurance oligopoly market," Working Papers hal-00417573, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00417573
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-00417573
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kenneth A. Froot, 2007. "Risk Management, Capital Budgeting, and Capital Structure Policy for Insurers and Reinsurers," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 74(2), pages 273-299, June.
    2. Asplund, Marcus, 2002. "Risk-averse firms in oligopoly," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 20(7), pages 995-1012, September.
    3. Matutes, Carmen & Vives, Xavier, 2000. "Imperfect competition, risk taking, and regulation in banking," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 1-34, January.
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    6. 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.
    7. Xavier Vives, 2001. "Oligopoly Pricing: Old Ideas and New Tools," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 026272040x, December.
    8. Froot, Kenneth A., 2001. "The market for catastrophe risk: a clinical examination," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2-3), pages 529-571, May.
    9. Weibull, Jörgen, 2006. "Price competition and convex costs," SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 622, Stockholm School of Economics, revised 23 Feb 2006.
    10. John Duncan & Robert J. Myers, 2000. "Crop Insurance under Catastrophic Risk," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 82(4), pages 842-855.
    11. Mattias K. Polborn, 1998. "A Model of an Oligopoly in an Insurance Market," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 23(1), pages 41-48, June.
    12. Zanjani, George, 2002. "Pricing and capital allocation in catastrophe insurance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 283-305, August.
    13. Mary A. Weiss & Joon‐Hai Chung, 2004. "U.S. Reinsurance Prices, Financial Quality, and Global Capacity," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 71(3), pages 437-467, September.
    14. Brander, James A. & Lewis, Tracy R., 1986. "Oligopoly and Financial Structure: The Limited Liability Effect," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(5), pages 956-970, December.
    15. Froot, Kenneth A. & O'Connell, Paul G.J., 2008. "On the pricing of intermediated risks: Theory and application to catastrophe reinsurance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 69-85, January.
    16. Gollier, Christian, 2007. "The Determinants of the Insurance Demand by Firms," IDEI Working Papers 468, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse.
    17. Ray Rees & Hugh Gravelle & Achim Wambach, 1999. "Regulation of Insurance Markets," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 24(1), pages 55-68, June.
    18. Wambach, Achim, 1999. "Bertrand competition under cost uncertainty," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 17(7), pages 941-951, October.
    19. Mary A. Weiss, 2007. "Underwriting Cycles: A Synthesis and Further Directions," Journal of Insurance Issues, Western Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 30(1), pages 31-46.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sabine Lemoyne de Forges & Ruben Bibas & Stéphane Hallegatte, 2001. "A dynamic model of extreme risk coverage : Resilience and e fficiency in the global reinsurance market," CIRED Working Papers halshs-00800460, HAL.
    2. Sebastian Schlütter, 2019. "Optimal taxation in non-life insurance markets," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance Theory, Springer;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 44(1), pages 1-26, March.
    3. Sebastian Schlütter, 2019. "Optimal taxation in non-life insurance markets," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 44(1), pages 1-26, March.
    4. Dutang, Christophe & Albrecher, Hansjoerg & Loisel, Stéphane, 2013. "Competition among non-life insurers under solvency constraints: A game-theoretic approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 231(3), pages 702-711.
    5. Radoslav Raykov, 2014. "Uncertain Costs and Vertical Differentiation in an Insurance Duopoly," Staff Working Papers 14-14, Bank of Canada.
    6. repec:hal:wpaper:hal-00746245 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Jean-François Outreville, 2014. "The Meaning of Risk? Insights from The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 39(4), pages 768-781, October.

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    Keywords

    Capital Choice; Price Competition; Risk-averse Firms; Insurance Market; Capital Choice.;
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