Limited liability creates a conict of interests between policyholders and shareholders ofinsurance companies. It provides shareholders with incentives to increase the risk of theinsurer's assets and liabilities which, in turn, might reduce the value policyholders attach toand premiums they are...

The financial services industry has undergone significant regulatory change in thepast two decades due to Basel II (banking) and Solvency II (insurance). Even though these promulgations are focused on European institutions, their influenceextends around the globe. An important dimension of this...

The Financial Sector Reforms Commission (FSLRC) which was set up in 2011 by the Ministry of Finance was mandated to study existing legislation and financial sector regulatory practices in India and to propose improvements. The FSLRC submitted its report in 2013 and four of its members recorded...

European Union (EU) countries offer a unique experience of financial regulatory and supervisory integration, complementing various other European integration efforts following the Second World War. Financial regulatory and supervisory integration was a very slow process before 2008, despite...

Global financial regulators are currently reflecting on the nature of the insurance business. Specifically, they are trying to classify insurance into "traditional" and "non-traditional" activities, and to distinguish them from "non-insurance" activities. Subsequently, they will seek to apply...

A vast majority of insurers are regulated by each state in which they conduct business; however, a small subset of specialized firms, risk retention groups (RRGs), are largely exempt from most aspects of duplicative regulation no matter how many states they operate. This paper analyzes the...

We offer a novel explanation of underwriting volatility in property-liability insurance markets in terms of private uncertainty over public regulatory policy. Underwriting involving random losses to policyholders is one source of risk to the equity value of insurance firms. Solvency regulations,...

The effect of federal insurance regulation has been a perennial topic of debate. Proponents have argued that federal regulation would result in a variety of benefits including greater product innovation, increased speed-to-market, reduction of regulatory costs, and additional cost efficiencies....

We investigate the effects of regulatory restrictions on the amounts invested in risky asset classes in life insurance funds across EU countries. By estimating a panel data econometric model, we find that these restrictions have an economically and statistically significant negative impact on...

Life insurers' odds of being placed under regulatory control (for example, conservatorship or receivership) during the financial crisis years of 2008 and 2009 increased with deteriorating fundamentals at a much higher rate than during normal times or during the previous recession. However, no...