The relationship between insurance market and macroeconomic indicators in the Baltic states

ABSTRACT

Using mixed-effect and panel data regression models applied on data from the Baltic states, 1996–2017, this article examines how, and to what extent, insurance market indicators are related to or dependent on macroeconomic indicators. The results show that the growth of economic well-being and living standards, built on the growth of GDP per capita and households’ income, largely contributes to increasing insurance consumption in terms of insurance premiums, insurance density, and insurance penetration as key indicators from both state-level and cross-country perspectives. Meanwhile, inflation, national currency depreciation, and exchange rate increase are identified as insurance market growth impeding indicators.

KEYWORDS:

• Direct insurance premiums
• insurance density
• insurance penetration
• households’ macroeconomic indicators
• Baltic states
• dynamic panel data

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. Direct premiums written represent the volume of premiums received before taking into account the reinsurance ceded. This indicator suggests the growth of business in the case of an insurance company. It also shows how many new premiums were written during a year, even the premiums that were not collected.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mihaela Simionescu

Mihaela Simionescu (Bratu), doctor in Economics (domain: Cybernetics and Statistics (2013)) and habilitated doctor in Economics (2016), PhD Supervisor, scientific researcher 2nd degree at the Institute for Economic Forecasting of the Romanian Academy, Associate Researcher at Prague Institute for Qualification Enhancement and fellow at Global Labor Organization. Mihaela is also a Professor at Social Innovations Doctoral School from Mykolas Romeris University of Vilnius (Lithuania), teaching lectures of Statistical Analysis and Econometrics for Scientific Research (2016,2018), Visiting Researcher at Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies in Rome (Italy) (2017), Visiting Professor at Pan-European University from Slovakia (2016-2017), and a Visiting Researcher at Romanian Academy - Economic and Social Research Institute Gherghe Zane Iasi (2015). Her research interests include international migration, immigration, labor markets and international economics, statistics, econometrics, data collection, and analysis.

Aurelija Ulbinaitė

Aurelija Ulbinaitė is an Associate Professor at Vilnius University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Business Department, from where she received her PhD degree in Management and Administration, Social Science, in 2012. Her teaching curriculum involves Business Models, Business Diagnostics, Company Performance Evaluation, Business Operation Seminar, Insurance Process Management and Business Integrational Processes. Aurelija has participated in research projects funded by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, and the Estonian Institute. Her research interests include risk management and insurance, consumer behavior, decision making, models for consumer behavior in insurance services; business process management; service industry, service marketing; European and Asian socio-economic, and cultural values.