Influencers of Life Insurance Investments: Empirical Evidence from Europe

• Main Author: Aditi Mitra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Wollongong 2017-09-01
• Series: Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal
• Subjects: European Union; Economic Growth; Investment Decisions; Insurance; Europe
• Online Access: http://ro.uow.edu.au/aabfj/vol11/iss3/7

This study analyzes the impact of economic, demographic and cultural factors on life insurance consumption in 28 European countries. The period of study is post financial crisis from 2009-2014, and the study considers many of the emerging Eastern European economies where there have been significant insurance sector reforms recently. Europe is the world’s largest insurance market with 35% of the overall insurance premium contribution, but ranks third in insurance per capita, hence Europe is an interesting region in which to study insurance demand. The study observed four economic parameters: GDP per capita, gross savings, competitiveness of the nation, and inflation, as significant impacts on the insurance consumption in the region. Two demographic factors, population and education, and two cultural factors, individualism and long term orientation, appear to impact insurance consumption in the selected countries.