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The fluctuations of insurers’ risk appetite

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  • Luciano, Elisa
  • Rochet, Jean Charles
Abstract
The risk appetite of insurance companies fluctuates over time in a quasi cyclical fashion. When their capitalization is high (low), companies choose portfolios with a high (small) share of risky assets. We show that this phenomenon has the same source as the underwriting cycle, namely recapitalization costs. We build a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model of the insurance sector where financial frictions prevent companies from maintaining a target leverage. Portfolio decisions of insurers fluctuate with their aggregate capitalization. The model rationalizes two apparently disjoint pieces of evidence: long-standing empirical evidence on underwriting cycles and more recent evidence on the fluctuations of insurance companies’ risk appetite.

Suggested Citation

  • Luciano, Elisa & Rochet, Jean Charles, 2022. "The fluctuations of insurers’ risk appetite," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:dyncon:v:144:y:2022:i:c:s0165188922002469
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jedc.2022.104543
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors

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