We evaluate the two main methods to measuring property-liability insurer efficiency: the production and "flow" (or financial intermediation) approaches. The two approaches are not mutually consistent and thus potentially yield different answers to tested hypotheses. The production approach is...

Insurers' principal function – underwriting – is to assess and price customer risk. Economic theory suggests that insurers should prioritize underwriting over investment as a source of income. We find that many U.S. non-life insurers conform to theory: they consistently earn high returns on...