Centro de Documentacion de Fundación MAPFRE - Mutual life offices : a contribution to the governance debate

MAP20070042778

Mutual life offices : a contribution to the governance debate / Stephen Diacon... [et al.]. — Nottingham, United Kingdom : Centre for the Risk and the Insurance Studies, 2004

(CRIS research report ; 2004-1)

There is a substantial theoretical literature on the co-existence of mutual and proprietary insurers. There is also a substantial body of empirical research in this area, much of which discusses the performance of mutual and proprietary life insurance in the UK. Authors have been able to add to the empirical research, updating it so that they can make up to date comparisons using 2003 data and, in addition, looking at trends from 1985 onwards. That work shows that the market size of mutuals (by assets) has more than halved in the past ten years. The size of the average mutual has not grown since 1995. They have found that mutuality does have a significant effect on the customer-orientated performance measures that they identified. For example, it is associated with lower withdrawal rates; but the average free asset ratio was lower than for proprietary life insurers writing with profit business. However, and perhaps surprisingly, mutuality as such did not have a significant effect on the manager-orientated performance measures, such as expense ratios. Authors also examined the impact of a number of corporate governance measures on the performance of mutuals, finding out that the proportion of directors who are non-executive appears to reduce managerial behaviour

1. Mutualidades de seguros . 2. Oficinas . 3. Seguro de vida . 4. Distribución comercial . 5. Dirección de empresas . 6. Reino Unido . 7. Distribución de seguros . I. Diacon, Stephen R. . II. Nottingham University Business School. Centre for Risk and Insurance Studies . III. CRIS research report ; 2004-1 . IV. Title.