Issue #1 (Volume 15 2024)

This research paper examines the correlation between underwriting profit factors and the overall profitability of publicly traded general insurance companies operating in South Africa. The study analyzed a sample of 36 insurers, considering their quantifiable markets and accessible financial data from 2008 to 2019. Employing signal correlation analysis, the investigation explored the associations between various financial indicators and Return on Assets (ROA). The results revealed negative correlations between ROA and the logarithms of total investment (TI), shareholder funds (SF), and underwriting profits (UWP), with correlation coefficients of –0.4500, –0.3365, and –0.4050, respectively. These findings indicate that as TI, SF, and UWP increase, there is a tendency for ROA to decrease for general insurance companies in South Africa. Furthermore, a positive relationship was observed between the earning-asset ratio and ROA. This suggests that as the earning-asset ratio rises, the ROA of general insurance firms in South Africa tends to improve, indicating a potentially favorable impact on profitability. The significant findings of this study emphasize the importance of prioritizing effective risk management practices within insurance firms. By implementing these measures, such as minimizing the likelihood of claims and ensuring accurate reflection of assumed risks in premium charges, insurance companies can maintain positive underwriting profit. This, in turn, has the potential to enhance their overall profitability.

Blockchain technology has surfaced as a formidable catalyst, capable of reshaping the operational dynamics of conventional businesses. The integration of blockchain technology within the insurance industry has prompted a need for comprehensive understanding and assessment. This study aims to elucidate the relevance of blockchain in the insurance sector, identify key trends, influential research, and the overarching goals motivating the incorporation of blockchain in insurance practices. The study employed a systematic review to collect 125 research articles published between 2017 and 2023 focused on blockchain in insurance from the Web of Science database. This study used Biblioshiny. The analysis encompasses a wide range of parameters, including publication trends, influential authors, thematic clusters, and the geographic distribution of research. IEEE Access emerges as a prominent platform, hosting 11 articles dedicated to this topic. The results of keyword co-occurrence highlighted two keywords: blockchain and insurance. The results of the country collaboration map highlighted particular shortcomings, such as the concentration of research in countries like China, the USA, India, KSA, Malaysia, and Australia. A lack of research in developing and underdeveloped countries and insufficient knowledge sharing among researchers highlights a research gap. In conclusion, the analysis offers valuable insights into the evolving landscape of blockchain within the insurance industry.

Nepal’s non-life insurance sector holds immense potential to drive economic growth and boost the nation towards a secure financial future. Embracing this potential is a goal and a pivotal catalyst for substantial change. The study aims to determine how the non-life insurance sector can drive economic growth in Nepal. The methodology of this study uses quantitative analysis of financial data from 2013 to 2022 from 20 non-life insurance companies in Nepal and econometric modeling to assess the sector’s impact on economic growth. Using Panel EGLS (Estimated Generalized Least Squares) regression analysis, the findings show that with one-unit increments in total investment, total premium, and total tax paid, GDP is expected to change by approximately 591.52, –920.54 and 8,470.65 units, respectively. In contrast, the coefficient for total profit is –910.3477 and is not statistically significant. The study’s main conclusion implies that the insurance sector contributes to the country’s economic growth by investing in productive activities and paying taxes to the government. Still, it also imposes a cost on the economy by charging high premiums to the insured. The profitability of the insurance sector does not affect the GDP, which indicates that the insurance sector is competitive and efficient or that other factors determine the GDP besides the insurance sector. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the non-life insurance sector’s role in Nepal’s economic development and informs evidence-based policy decisions.

One of the effective ways to increase the level of population coverage with medical services is health insurance. The paper aims to determine what type of health insurance (compulsory, social, or voluntary) has the greatest impact on a country’s ability to provide large-scale and timely medical services to citizens, as measured by the number of unmet needs for medical examination, treatable and preventable mortality. The control variables included a country’s population size, the level of economic well-being, and the scale of the public health system (number of doctors and hospital beds) based on EUROSTAT data for all 27 EU countries in 2012–2021. Modelling (regression models of panel data with fixed and random effects in STATA 18, Wald test, Hausman test, Breusch and Pagan test) proved that only one of three researched types of insurance – voluntary health insurance – positively influences a country’s ability to provide large-scale and timely medical services to citizens: an increase in its volume by 1% leads to a decrease in unmet needs in medical examination on average across all EU countries by 0.26%, treatable mortality rate by 0.08%, preventive mortality rate by 0.27%. The influence of the other two types – compulsory and social – was not confirmed (received regression coefficients for these variables are not statistically significant). This emphasizes the importance of citizens’ conscious attitude to their health (due to the increase in voluntary health insurance) both in strengthening public health and in ensuring faster and better access to medical services.

The study intends to determine how leadership techniques adjusted to the trends impact employee job satisfaction, considering the mediating influence of perceived organizational politics in light of the expanding influence of digital technology and virtual work settings. The study included a solid sample of 300 workers from different parts of Jordan. The employees filled out the questionnaire anonymously. 5-point rating Likert scales were used to capture a range of viewpoints. Using the Partial Least Squares software, this study applies Structural Equation Modelling analysis to examine the relationships between job satisfaction, perceived organizational politics, and leadership styles in Jordanian insurance companies. The study focuses on all employees of insurance companies in Jordan, including people working at various administrative levels. The most common length of job tenure was between one and five years (38.67%). Initial results show a strong beneficial relationship between transformational leadership philosophies and contentment at work (β = 0. 378, t = 6.266, LL = 0.483, UL = 0.718, p < 0.001). Similarly, transformational leadership had the highest standardized effect on perceived organizational politics with a coefficient of 0.443. Furthermore, the complex processes by which leadership philosophies tangentially affect job satisfaction levels are revealed by the role of mediation of perceived organizational politics.

The insurance industry contributes to the smooth running of the economy. Unfortunately, not every country develops insurance at a high level; that is, the level of insurance penetration is low. This is happening in Nigeria. Therefore, this study aims to establish the effect of competitive positioning on the market share of selected insurance companies in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study adopts a survey research design. A structured instrument was used for data collection using the modified six-point Likert-type scale. The questionnaire was divided into three sections (about respondents’ demographic factors, competitive positioning, and market share). The population was 2,183 management-level employees from the 20 selected insurance companies. The sample size of 507 was determined using stratified random sampling and proportionate method. Test-retest method was used to validate the instrument, while the reliability was determined through internal consistency method. The Cronbach Alpha coefficients ranged from 0.71 to 0.88. Response rate of 86.7% was achieved. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis. Findings reveal that competitive positioning components have a significant effect on market share (Adj.R2 = 0.194, F(5. 434) = 22.097, p < 0.05). The results demonstrate that if all the competitive positioning components were set to zero, the market share of selected insurance companies in Lagos State would be 6.537, which is a positive value. Thus, competitive positioning components significantly affect market share. As a result, this study found that insurers would benefit from increasing their focus on developing the strategic asset and research and development aspects of competitive positioning to expand their market share.

Acknowledgments
The researchers acknowledge the contributions of the anonymous reviewers for the useful comments in making the article better. We acknowledge the management of the University that made it mandatory for the supervisee to publish two articles from their thesis, one in the name of the supervisor as the lead author, while another in the name of the supervisee as the lead author. The research assistants are acknowledged for the cooperation during the field work and the management of the insurance companies engaged for the study. The inputs of the supervisors are greatly acknowledged.

Data Envelopment Analysis is a crucial tool for evaluating the performance of insurance companies, considering its ability to handle multiple inputs and outputs. This study provides a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) application in the insurance industry from 2010 to 2023, examining 405 documents from 432 sources. Materials from academic databases (Web of Science and Scopus) were used for the analysis. The methodological flow included three stages. For analysis, two sets of keywords were identified: one set oriented toward DEA and the other tailored to the Insurance Industry domain. To analyze and visualize the data, VOSviewer software, version 1.6.19, and RSTUDIO were used. This paper highlights the evolution of DEA methodologies, incorporating advanced techniques like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and addresses emerging trends such as digital transformation, customer-centric assessments, and sustainability. The analysis reveals significant geographical and sectoral differences in efficiency assessments, with higher efficiency levels typically found in developed markets such as North America and Europe compared to emerging markets in Asia and Africa. It also notes the distinctive efficiency patterns between life and non-life insurance firms, influenced by product complexity and market competition. The findings indicate that DEA remains versatile and essential for performance evaluation in the insurance industry, adapting to challenges through methodological advancements.