Centro de Documentacion de Fundación MAPFRE - Local religious beliefs and insurance companies' risk-taking behaviour

MAP20220011594

Local religious beliefs and insurance companies' risk-taking behaviour / Thomas R. Berry-Stölzle, Jianren Xu

Sumario: We empirically examine the effect of local religious beliefs on the risk-taking behaviour of U.S. life insurers headquartered in that region. We distinguish between insurers that predominantly write annuities and insurers that predominantly write life insurance policies; the annuity business is relatively riskier than writing life insurance. Insurers headquartered in high-Catholic or low-Protestant areas are more likely to be annuity writers. Annuity writers located in high-Catholic or low-Protestant areas invest more in risky assets and exhibit higher investment return volatilities, as well as a higher volatility of their return on assets. Overall, our results suggest that local culture has significant influences on life insurers' behaviour

En: Geneva papers on risk and insurance : issues and practice. - Geneva : The Geneva Association, 1976- = ISSN 1018-5895. - 04/04/2022 Volumen 47 Número 2 - abril 2022 , p. 242-278

1. Seguro de vida . 2. Religión . 3. Renta vitalicia . 4. Comportamiento social . 5. Estados Unidos . I. Xu, Jianren . II. Título.