IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nfi/nfiwps/2011-wp-20.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Regulatory Effect of Risk-Based Capital in Property-Liability Insurance

Author

Listed:
  • Jiang Cheng
  • Mary A. Weiss

Abstract

This study investigates how U.S. property-liability insurers changed their behavior response to the risk-based capital (RBC) requirements implemented in 1994. We posit that We posit that insurers may have acted to manage their operations and/or exploit anomalies in the RBC may have acted to manage their operations and/or exploit anomalies in the RBC formula so as to improve the RBC result. The sample consists of pooled, cross-sectional data of U.S. property property-liability insurers included in the NAIC’s database for the period 1991 to 2007. Simultaneous equations with partial adjustment models are estimated with change in a firm's operating risk characteristic (change in leverage ratio, change in proportion of premiums written in high-risk lines and change in proportion of stock real estate investment) as the dependent variable. First, regressions are estimated by year for 1991-1996. Then, pooled pooled regressions are estimated with dummy variables reflecting insurers’ financial strength added in the estimation. Two time dummy variables (1994 and 1991-1993 dummy) are also added to study whether or how insurers adjust their behaviors over time. We find that insurers adjust to We find that insurers adjust to We find that insurers adjust to We find that insurers adjust to We find that insurers adjust to We find that insurers adjust to their target ratio of leverage, proportion premiums written in high risk lines and proportion of stock and real estate investment simultaneously. We find that insurers in weaker financial positions may have a larger response to the imposition of RBC requirements. Results indicate that insurers in different financial conditions responded to RBC differently. Further, insurers have adjusted their behaviors over time, and a new regulatory rule plays a role in affecting these adjustments.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiang Cheng & Mary A. Weiss, 2011. "The Regulatory Effect of Risk-Based Capital in Property-Liability Insurance," NFI Working Papers 2011-WP-20, Indiana State University, Scott College of Business, Networks Financial Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:nfi:nfiwps:2011-wp-20
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.indstate.edu/business/sites/business.indstate.edu/files/Docs/2011-WP-20_Cheng_Weiss.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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.
    2. Evan Gatev & Philip E. Strahan, 2006. "Banks' Advantage in Hedging Liquidity Risk: Theory and Evidence from the Commercial Paper Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(2), pages 867-892, April.
    3. Etti G. Baranoff & Savas Papadopoulos & Thomas W. Sager, 2007. "Capital and Risk Revisited: A Structural Equation Model Approach for Life Insurers," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 74(3), pages 653-681.
    4. Wall, Larry D. & Peterson, David R., 1987. "The effect of capital adequacy guidelines on large bank holding companies," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 581-600, December.
    5. Baranoff, Etti G. & Sager, Thomas W., 2002. "The relations among asset risk, product risk, and capital in the life insurance industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 1181-1197, June.
    6. Memmel, Christoph & Raupach, Peter, 2010. "How do banks adjust their capital ratios?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 509-528, October.
    7. Cummins, J. David & Harrington, Scott E. & Klein, Robert, 1995. "Insolvency experience, risk-based capital, and prompt corrective action in property-liability insurance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(3-4), pages 511-527, June.
    8. Kim, Daesik & Santomero, Anthony M, 1988. " Risk in Banking and Capital Regulation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 43(5), pages 1219-1233, December.
    9. Grace, M. F. & J. L. Hotchkiss, 1993. "External Impacts on the Property-Liability Insurance Cycle," Working Papers 020, Risk and Insurance Archive, revised Feb 1995.
    10. J. David Cummins & Martin F. Grace & Richard D. Phillips, 1998. "Regulatory solvency prediction in property-liability insurance: risk-based capital, audit ratios, and cash flow simulation," Working Papers 98-20, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    11. Sally M. Davies & Douglas A. McManus, 1991. "The effects of closure policies on bank risk-taking," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 158, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (US).
    12. Beaver, William H. & McNichols, Maureen F. & Nelson, Karen K., 2003. "Management of the loss reserve accrual and the distribution of earnings in the property-casualty insurance industry," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 347-376, August.
    13. Joseph G. Haubrich & Paul Wachtel, 1993. "Capital requirements and shifts in commercial bank portfolios," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, issue Q III, pages 2-15.
    14. repec:bla:joares:v:34:y:1996:i:1:p:151-171 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Wall, Larry D. & Peterson, David R., 1995. "Bank holding company capital targets in the early 1990s: The regulators versus the markets," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(3-4), pages 563-574, June.
    16. George Sheldon, 1996. "Capital Adequacy Rules and the Risk-Seeking Behavior of Banks: A Firm-Level Analysis," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 132(IV), pages 709-734, December.
    17. 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.
    18. Jacques, Kevin & Nigro, Peter, 1997. "Risk-based capital, portfolio risk, and bank capital: A simultaneous equations approach," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(6), pages 533-547.
    19. 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.
    20. 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.
    21. Hall, B.J., 1993. "How Has the Basle Accord Affected Bank Portfolios?," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1642, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    22. Mayers, David & Smith, Clifford W, Jr, 1981. "Contractual Provisions, Organizational Structure, and Conflict Control in Insurance Markets," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(3), pages 407-434, July.
    23. Shrieves, Ronald E. & Dahl, Drew, 1992. "The relationship between risk and capital in commercial banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 439-457, April.
    24. Scott Harrington & Greg Niehaus, 2002. "Capital Structure Decisions in the Insurance Industry: Stocks versus Mutuals," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 21(1), pages 145-163, February.
    25. Kim, Myung-Sun & Kross, William, 1998. "The impact of the 1989 change in bank capital standards on loan loss provisions and loan write-offs," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 69-99, February.
    26. Blum, Jurg, 1999. "Do capital adequacy requirements reduce risks in banking?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 755-771, May.
    27. Mayers, David & Smith, Clifford W, Jr, 1988. "Ownership Structure across Lines of Property-Casualty Insurance," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(2), pages 351-378, October.
    28. Aggarwal, Raj & Jacques, Kevin T., 2001. "The impact of FDICIA and prompt corrective action on bank capital and risk: Estimates using a simultaneous equations model," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 1139-1160, June.
    29. Davies, Sally M. & McManus, Douglas A., 1991. "The effects of closure policies on bank risk-taking," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(4-5), pages 917-938, September.
    30. 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.
    31. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    More about this item

    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:nfi:nfiwps:2011-wp-20. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Ray Thomas). General contact details of provider: http://edirc.repec.org/data/nfinsus.html .

    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 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.

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

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.