Paper Title : The Impact of Going Public Strategy on Free Cash Flow: The Case of Taiwan Life Insurance Industry
Author (S) : Lin-Yhi Chou
Abstract
Previous research has not simultaneously discussed the associations of free cash flow with some important characteristics, such as open strategy, business mix, and cost efficiency. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to determine the effects of open strategy adopted by 8 insurers on free cash flow. Our sample consists of 26 life insurance companies in Taiwan studied over the period from 1977 to 2003. OLS regression was used to test our hypotheses. Our findings showed that insurance companies with high level of free cash flow increase their operation cost. This result is consistent with agency cost theory. Publicly held companies with high level of free cash flow will invest heavily in high-cost claim products. This result is consistent with the free cash flow theory developed by Jensen (1986). Finally, minimum-operating capital for insurance companies may decrease companies’ liquidity.
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Paper Title : Evaluation of Quality Dimensions in Life Insurance Market: Customer
Segmentation Analysis
Author (S) : T. VANNIARAJAN, R. S. BALASENTHIL
Abstract
India's insurance sector is the second largest mobilization of saving after banks and constitutes 15 per cent of Gross Domestic Product Savings. After Globalisation and Liberalisation, the private players came into the market and try to capture the market dominated by public player. Even though the life insurance market is one of the biggest in the world, there is a vast potential to be tapped especially in Rural India. The insurance players are trying to capture the rural market but failed to achieve since they are not properly designing the strategies to capture the market. Hence, the present study focuses on that aspect only. For that the Indian Life Insurance market is classified into four important segments namely urban and rural customers of public and private players.
The present study confined its objective to identification of important quality dimension in the market and also identification of important discriminate quality dimension among these four customers segments. The study concludes that the important quality dimensions are service, agents, product and technology quality. There is a significant difference on the importance given on each quality dimension among the four groups of customers. In order to reach out all segments in the life insurance market, the insurance players formulate customized quality dimensions according to the need of the customers in each segment.
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Paper Title: An empirical analysis to study the impact of Switching Costs on Switching behavior in Indian Insurance Sector
Author (S) : Mala Srivastava
Abstract
Before liberalization of the insurance sectors in the late 1990s, there was virtually no competition in insurance sector. The four subsidiaries of the General Insurance Corporation enjoyed monopolistic position till 2000. All the new players entered have eye on the all insurance business including automobile insurance sector as it comprises of the largest segment in the non-life segment. The extent of this opportunity is likely be a function of several factors like de-tariffing, customers’ satisfaction with the current insurer, loyalty, and the ease and propensity to switch to the insurance provider. Indeed, increasing knowledge before acting is one way to avoid the risks associated with decisions under uncertainty. As a matter of fact, information-gathering activities are close substitutes for insurance contracts as protection against certain types of risks. The addition of a cost to insureds for switching insurers is shown to give incumbent provider a degree of monopoly power in setting prices. Adding costly insured price search further reduces the market share of new entrants. Barriers to switching other than product differentiation may also exist. High transition costs, or switching costs, between insurance plans could seriously reduce the propensity to switch. The study attempts to understand the underlying factors which may affect the decision to change insurers using the concept of perceived learning cost, quality of services, set up cost, relational cost and monetary cost and to understand how these variables affects the propensity of insured customers to switch insurers.
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Paper Title: European Flood Policy: Implications for the Insurance Industry
Author (S) : Anuradha Sharma, Bernadette Andreosso, Martin Mullins
Abstract
This paper reviews the role of the state in Flood Risk Management in Europe. Moreover, it aims to gain an understanding of the role played by the stakeholders other than the government. Flooding has been a concern for successive generations of European property owners. Financial protection has been provided by the government on a humanitarian basis and by insurers on voluntary basis. Historical and political factors have played an important role in shaping the state’s response to flood situations. However, lack of political will has given rise to an inadequate and fragmented respond to this issue. There is therefore a need for risk management and adaptation strategies to incorporate a broad and multifaceted array of proactive measures that contribute to a less vulnerable society. This paper highlights the concern of the insurance and financial services and the need for renewal of the existing approach to flood management.
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Paper Title: Service Quality in Health Insurance
Author (S) : R. Sunitha, M. Dhanabakyam
Abstract
Bringing up a family is a costly affair today. This is because of the increasing cost of education, rise in prices and most important the rising expenses of medication. The best way to reduce the medical cost would be to take up health insurance. But today, the market being a customer-oriented many service providers offer various schemes and privileges to attract them. But how many offer quality service is a big question. Service quality refers to the quality expected by the customers in rendering services. Globalization and liberalization has led to a lot of changes in the service sector. Entry of private service providers is a great challenge to the public players. Health Insurance industry is under hectic pressure to provide the best service to the customers. The future growth of these companies depends upon the service quality and various products offered to the customers. Health Insurance providers have to be cautious in retaining their customers because the bond between them ceases to terminate at the end of the year. The present study has made an attempt to find out the factors determining the service quality and the level of satisfaction in the service provided by the service providers.
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Paper Title: Bancassuarance: Can Banks be Effective Channels to Sell Insurance Products in India?
Author (S) : Rajesh Sharma
Abstract
The intense competition in the financial services market has forced companies to devise innovative ways for marketing their products. The insurance sector has witnessed fierce competition during past decade. Various insurance companies have tied up with different banks in India for cross selling insurance products due to the banks’ vast network & synergy of the products. The aim of this paper is to understand the Indian customers’ perception of the banks’ ability to work as an effective conduit for selling insurance products.
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Paper Title: Role of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India in Financing the Corporate Sector
Author (S) : M. Syed Ibrahim
Abstract
The insurance industry in India has witnessed a sea change ever since it was opened up to private players in 1999. The liberalization transformed the industry’s outlook towards the huge Indian manket.LIC is an major instrument for the mobilization of savings of people and these savings are channeled in to investments for the economic development of the country. It may be seen that from about Rs. 200 crore in new business in 1957 the Corporation crossed Rs. 1000 crore only in the year 1969-1970, and it took another 10 years for LIC to cross Rs. 2000 crore mark of new business. But with reorganization happening in the early eighties, by 1985-1986 LIC had crossed Rs 7000 crore sum assured on new policies. Today LIC functions with 2048 computerized branch offices, 100 Divisional offices and 7 Zonal offices. The working results of the LIC can be evaluated by various indicators such as Life Insurance Fund, Premium Income, Total Income, Expenses, Interest Rates, Claims-Settlements, Number of Offices, and Productivity of Agents and so on. This study analyses how the corporation helps in corporate sector in terms of financial assistance. |
