Insurers : Too Many, Too Few, or "Just Right"? Initial Observations on a Cross-Country Dataset of Concentration and Competition Measures

Thorburn, Craig

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: APPLICATIONS;    COMPANY;    COMPETITIVE MARKET;    COMPETITORS;    COUNTRY TO COUNTRY;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-4578
RP-ID  :  WPS4578

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

In many markets, industry andpolicymakers agree that there may be too many insurers. Inothers, the consensus is that there could be benefit frommore competition. But this broad consensus is oftensupported by evidence that is more qualitative, anecdotal,or judgmental despite being unanimous. What is less clear,however, is how far consolidation or liberalization will go,how fast, and when it will end. This paper presents someinitial observations from a cross-country data set andproposes that individual country results can be interpretedagainst this data set to inform expectations regardingtrends in competition, concentration and consolidation, toinform analysis of the sector, for individual firm strategicplanning and wider market risk assessments. A "naturallevel" for measures is suggested as a startinghypothesis. Further consideration is then made of the roleof absolute market size, stage of market development, anddifferentials between life and non life segments. Analysisof the natural level, adjusted for market conditions, canthen be used to develop preliminary views on current andexpected market dynamics, strategic planning, and to informpolicy, regulatory and supervisory priorities.