The determinants of non-life insurance spending: Evidence from Arab economies

In almost all emerging and developed nations, the insurance industry is one of the most important participants of the financial services sector. As a result, the goal of this study is to investigate the firm characteristics and drivers of financial performance using 121 publicly traded non-life insurance companies from 16 Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries during the period from 2008 to 2019. The consolidated least squares and two-step generalized method of moments estimators were used to analyze a panel data set of 1,452 observations. The findings show that a lagged return on assets, equity capital, operational efficiency, leverage and investment capability are statistically significant determinants of financial performance in non-life insurance companies of SADC countries, even though equity capital, operational efficiency, and leverage are inversely significant. The insurance industry, policymakers, the state, and shareholders should consider these important variables when making decisions, and enhance their performance according to the findings. It is also suggested that the industry’s capital structures should be reformed to preserve a favorable balance of equity and debt amongst the businesses. Additionally, measures such as automated systems that may decrease operating costs should be used to improve financial performance.

In this digital era, customers in the insurance sector always look for better insurance products and services at an affordable price. When customers are unsure about service, they switch over to a better service provider. This behavior is more relevant to non-life insurance. However, the switching behavior of customers is hampered by certain switchover barriers such as “brand consciousness”, “brand pride”, “brand loyalty”, etc. This study focuses on exploring switching intentions and switching behaviors of adults in India keeping “brand love” as a mediator. A structured questionnaire was employed to collect the primary data from adults having non-life insurance products to analyze switching intentions and switching behaviors. The collected data were analyzed employing SPSS software and Hayes Process Model and appropriate statistical tools. The study results show that the switching intentions of adults vary based on their age, annual income, and education. Mean scores reveal that the lesser the age, the higher the intention to switch over. Further, based on annual income, adults who earn up to Rs 2 lakhs annually have more switching-over intentions (Mean score: 3.9719) followed by adults who earn Rs more than 2 lakhs to 5 lakhs annually (Mean score: 3.7590). Mean scores of education levels regarding switching intentions are higher among more educated adults and less among those who are qualified up to the school level.

Asia Pacific is the region with the highest number of losses in the world. While Indonesia ranks fourth in the number of frauds, it has the highest increase in frauds based on the CPI index. This study aims to examine employee fraud triggered by the six components of the fraud hexagon. This study tries to develop the hexagon fraud element by adding power distance elements and using ethical values as a moderating variable. This study conducted a survey of 351 respondents. Using a purposive sampling method, the heads of funds, heads of credit, heads of treasurers and heads of accountants were selected as respondents in 128 rural banks in Bali. PLS displays an adjusted R2 value of 0.331. Not all elements of the fraud hexagon are proven to influence fraud. Only pressure, opportunity, rationalization, and ego affect employees in committing fraud. Meanwhile, power distance as an additional element of the fraud hexagon can increase fraud. Ethical values can become an anti-fraud strategy in reducing employee pressure and ego in committing fraud. The results of this study will provide input for rural bank managers to anticipate factors that increase employee fraud and increase the role of ethical values in suppressing employees’ desire to commit fraud.