"This book presents a novel and provocative analysis of how things can go wrong in
insurance markets. It deserves to be widely read, and seriously debated."-Professor
John Sutton,LSE
Description
- Comparative study of the regulatory frameworks and the outcomes for customers of these
in each country.
- Challenges orthodox thinking about the role of state regulation within markets.
- Detailed empirical survey of the property insurance market in Britain, Spain, France,
Switzerland, and Germany.
This book presents startling evidence that state monopolies can produce better outcomes
than the free market. It provides an empirical comparison of the property insurance market
in five European countries: Britain, Spain, France, Switzerland, and Germany. The market
and cost structures of insurers in each country are described, and particular features of
each market and the outcomes for customers examined. The regulatory frameworks vary widely
from country to country and so do the market outcomes, both in terms of premium level and
in terms of available insurance cover.
In view of the increase in major floods and other forms of natural damage (such as
subsidence) over the last decades, the non-availability of insurance cover in many
competitive insurance systems is likely to become a major political issue. This book shows
that state monopoly is an adequate policy response. Competitive insurance systems are
shown to provide incomplete cover at a substantially higher cost. In mixed systems, where
the private sector can obtain reinsurance from the state (such a system is being tried in
France) the state tends to end up paying most of the costs (it reinsures most of the bad
risks) while the private insurance companies keep most of the premium income.
The book will be of interest to academic economists interested in privatization,
regulation, the theory of the firm, and insurance; Policy-makers concerned with regulation
and privatization; Insurance companies, regulators, and analysts.
Readership: Academic economists interested in privatization, regulation, the theory of the
firm, and insurance; policy-makers concerned with regulation and privatization; and
insurance companies, regulators, and analysts.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1 Britain
2 Spain
3 France
4 Switzerland
5 Germany
Concluding Remarks
Hardback
200 pages