Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Insurance Intermediarie'

The thesis focuses particularly on the issues of the activites of insurance intermediaries. It identifies problems with the activities of insurance intermediaries and also presents and evaluates options for solving these problems in the context of legislation and market in the Czech Republic.

The imposed commission ban to Finnish insurance intermediaries has generated some controversy and the intermediary market has experienced consolidation in the few last years. The thesis examines the relationship between market structure and profitability among Finnish life insurance intermediaries and tests for the applicability of two market power hypotheses. The panel data analysis shows that there is support for the Relative Market Power hypothesis while the Structure-Conduct-Performance hypothesis is not applicable for Finnish life insurance intermediaries. The implication of this research is that competition authorities should be concerned with market structure effects when discussing changes to the regulatory environment which surrounds life insurance intermediaries.

In a fragmented and competitive industry, it is likely for the smaller roleplayer to be challenged in terms of competitiveness and market share. It is, therefore, important for the smaller organisation to etch its position in the market, by increasing its competitive advantage. In a milieu where there is a shift in distribution dynamics and the balance of power, and an increase in consumerism, the need to react is a pressing issue to be addressed by the smaller player. In the context of this study, the small and medium-low-impact intermediary in the South African short-term insurance industry is under pressure from, among others, direct distribution models and the increasing volume of the medium-high and high-impact intermediaries. It is determined in this study that the intermediary is challenged by all five market forces, as postulated by Porter in the model of “the five forces that shape industry competition”. The intermediary organisation must adopt positioning strategies, and differentiate its offering, in order to stay relevant in the industry. The short-term insurance intermediate industry is classified as a service industry; and therefore, it has unique factors to attend to. The positioning and differentiation strategies must be implemented without compromising the service quality levels. Furthermore, in the development of positioning strategies, it is essential to investigate the traditional marketing mix, while amplifying the mix with contemporary views of the subject. These form the basis of the positioning strategy; and from there, differentiation offerings can be shaped. A survey analysis of the product suppliers aims to identify the most important strategies for success. The study relies on the industry knowledge of the executives of these organisations, to steer the positioning strategies of the intermediary to fit in with their own positioning in the marketplace.

When the Global Insurance sector is enquired rarely more than few lines are dedicated to exploring the insurance market in the Gulf region. The aim of this paper is to provide some key elements to better understand the recent development and more importantly the possible future paths of this sector focusing more specifically toward the insurance market of the United Arab Emirates. This exploration will start with an analysis of the recent trends among the global sector for both the advanced and emerging markets. Then moving toward the UAE specifically with first a macroeconomic overview and after detailing the specificity of the insurance business in this country that recently has implemented in Dubai mandatory health insurance. The focus will be given also toward the Gulf region’s key characteristics particularly related to a type of insurance product called Takaful, specifically designed to be compliant with Sharia laws. The macroeconomic analysis of aggregate figures will be also followed by a discussion of the current insurance legislation within the UAE onshore and offshore markets, the last one particularly favorable for international reinsurance companies. In the last chapter also a comparison with Singapore is made to help the reader to better frame the distinctiveness of the Dubai International Financial Center.

L’obiettivo di questa ricerca consiste nell’indagare l’impatto dell’indipendenza del board, della remunerazione media degli amministratori esecutivi e della diversità di genere sugli indicatori di performance (ROA, ROE, profit margin, rendimentodi mercato) edi rischio (volatilità di mercato) di un campione di 96 compagnie assicurative quotate sui mercati Nord Americani nel periodo 2000-2013. La tesi è suddivisa in tre capitoli: il primo descrive l’importanza della corporate governance, il contesto normativo di riferimento e le motivazioni per cui si è analizzata l’industria assicurativa americana. Il secondo capitolo presenta l’analisi della letteratura, riferita al settore finanziario in generalee a quello assicurativo, evidenziando i pochi studi effettuati sulla corporate governance delle assicurazioni, e soprattutto sugli effetti della diversità di genereall’interno dei board. Il terzo capitolo, infine, riporta i risultati delle verifiche empiriche effettuate. La metodologia applicata all’analisi consiste in regressioni panel con 4 specifici metodi: (1) OLS con effetti fissi per ogni azienda, (2) OLS con effetti fissi per ogni azienda e residui ar(1), (3) OLS con effetti fissi per ogni azienda ed ogni anno e (4) regressioni a due stadi (2SLS) con effetti fissi per ogni azienda. I risultati confermano l’importanzadella strutturadi corporate governance quale determinante delle performance e del rischio delle imprese assicurative: in particolare, compensi più elevati degli esecutivi impattano positivamente sulla performance delle aziende e ne riducono il rischio e, allo stesso tempo, l’indipendenza dei membri del board e la percentuale di amministratori di genere femminile generano effetti positivi su entrambe ledimensioni considerate. Il lavoro, pertanto, oltre ad ampliare la letteratura assicurativa sul tema, fornisce diversi argomenti a favore di una regolamentazione di alcuni profili di governance delle assicurazioni. Inoltre, le evidenze in merito ai benefici connessi alladiversità di genere in seno ai consigli di amministrazione, in termini di maggiore performance e minor rischio, meritano un’attenzione particolare da parte delle autorità politiche e di regolamentazione, e portano a suggerirel’introduzione di “quote di genere” minime obbligatorie nei consigli di amministrazione delle imprese nord americane.
The research aims to investigate the impact of board independence, executives’ compensation and gender diversity on firms’ performance (ROA, ROE, profit margin and stock returns) and risk (market volatility), with reference to the North American insurance industry. Consistently with this purpose, the thesis includes three main chapters: Chapter 1 describes the importance of the said governance features and the new regulatory framework on governance practices and it explains the relevance of a further investigation on the US insurance industry. Chapter 2 presents a systematic literature review by considering both contributions from the extensive finance literature and studies on the insurance sector and it concludes that academic research on insurance industry’s corporate governance is very limited, especially if we focus on women representation on boards. Chapter 3 reports the main analyses carried out on a sample of 96 North American insurers over the period 2000-2013. In detail, the methodology consists of a panel regression framework with four estimation methods: (1) OLS firm fixed effects, (2) OLS firm fixed effects with ar(1) of first differenced residuals, (3) OLS firm and year fixed effects, and (4) two stage least squares (2SLS) with firm fixed effects. Results confirm that insurers’ performance and risk are sensitive to the composition of the board, in terms of proportion of independent and female directors, and to the average executives’ total compensation. Specifically, higher executives’ total compensation leads to higher performance and lower risk; increased board independence and gender diversity significantly reduce insurers’ risks and, moreover, more females in the boardrooms enhance insurance companies performance. The empirical findings of this work intensify insurance literature and provide justifications to include corporate governance factors in the insurance regulatory framework. In addition, the significant results about gender diversity might deserve consideration by regulators and policymakers since it suggests the introduction of mandatory “gender quotas” on the North American companies’ boards.

My thesis describes possible methods of distributing insurance products, especially the insurance intermediaries, who are the most important distribution channel in Czech Republic. The work analyses current legislation and its future development. At the conclusion there are investigated specific requirements of insurance clients.

In this work we discuss the secondary market for life insurance policies in the United States of America. First, we give an overview of the life settlement market: how it came into existence, its growth prospects and the ethical issues it arises. Secondly, we discuss the characteristics of the different life insurance products present in the market and describe how life settlements are originated. Life settlement transactions tend to be long and complex transactions that require the involvement of a number of parties. Also, a direct investment into life insurance policies is fraught with a number of practical issues and entails risks that are not directly related to longevity. This may reduce the efficiency of a direct investment in physical policies. For these reasons, a synthetic longevity market has evolved. The number of parties involved in a synthetic longevity transaction is typically smaller and the broker-dealer transferring the longevity exposure will be retaining most or all of the risks a physical investment entails. Finally, we describe the main methods used in the market to evaluate life settlement investments and the role of life expectancy providers.

In this work we discuss the secondary market for life insurance policies in the United States of America. First, we give an overview of the life settlement market: how it came into existence, its growth prospects and the ethical issues it arises. Secondly, we discuss the characteristics of the different life insurance products present in the market and describe how life settlements are originated. Life settlement transactions tend to be long and complex transactions that require the involvement of a number of parties. Also, a direct investment into life insurance policies is fraught with a number of practical issues and entails risks that are not directly related to longevity. This may reduce the efficiency of a direct investment in physical policies. For these reasons, a synthetic longevity market has evolved. The number of parties involved in a synthetic longevity transaction is typically smaller and the broker-dealer transferring the longevity exposure will be retaining most or all of the risks a physical investment entails. Finally, we describe the main methods used in the market to evaluate life settlement investments and the role of life expectancy providers.

My master thesis "Intermediaries of insurance products" deals with the activities of insurance intermediaries, legislation regulating their work, comparison of the Czech legislation with other countries and the organizations associating insurance intermediaries. The practical part is particularly focused on the analysis of commission system in companies AWD Česká republika s.r.o. and Česká pojišťovna a.s.

Кузьменко, Т. С. Удосконалення ринку страхових посередників в Україні: магістерська робота : 072 Фінанси, банківська справа та страхування / Т. С. Кузьменко ; керівник роботи Панченко О. І. ; Національний університет «Чернігівська політехніка», кафедра фінансів, банківської справи та страхування. – Чернігів, 2020. – 92 с.
Предметом дослідження є система заходів з удосконалення ринку страхового посередництва в Україні. Об’єктом дослідження виступає страховий ринок України. Мета кваліфікаційної роботи є аналіз регулятивної бази та фінансово- економічних показників посередницької діяльності у системі продажів страхових послуг в Україні, а також розробка рекомендацій щодо удосконалення ринку страхового посередництва в Україні. Завданнями роботи є дослідити роль посередників на страховому ринку та навести їх характеристику та класифікацію, вивчити роль страхового посередника у забезпеченні розвитку страхового ринку, проаналізувати чинники, що впливають на розвиток ринку страхового посередництва, навести загальну характеристика ринку страхового посередництва та його особливостей, обгрунтувати страхові заходи з економічної точки зору.
The object of research is the insurance market of Ukraine. The purpose of the qualification work is to analyze the regulatory framework and financial and economic indicators of intermediary activities in the system of sales of insurance services in Ukraine, as well as to develop recommendations for improving the market of insurance intermediation in Ukraine. The objectives of the work are to investigate the role of intermediaries in the insurance market and give their characteristics and classification, to study the role of insurance intermediaries in ensuring the development of the insurance market, to analyze the factors influencing the development of the insurance intermediation market, to give the general characteristics of the insurance intermediation market and its features, to substantiate insurance measures from the economic point of view.

The thesis gives the analysis of the life insurance market in Ukraine. The first part is dedicated to the main characteristics of the Ukrainian insurance market with detailed specification of its participants, regulatory and theoretical basement of life insurance. The second part introduces deep analysis of the main insurance indexes of the market and also the analysis of particular insurance companies with reference to their market shares and product supplies. The last part compares evolution of the Ukrainian insurance market with other nations. Finally, the thesis points out the main problems of the life insurance market in Ukraine and their probable solutions.

Digital technology has given many producers an opportunity to interface directly with customers, circumventing the traditional intermediaries. In recent years, digital technology has been attributed with the risk of disintermediation across different industries. The purpose of this research was twofold. The first was to gain an understanding of the readiness of the insurance intermediaries to the advent of digital disintermediation. The second was to establish in which adopter group these intermediaries are classified, in the Diffusion of Innovation model. An inductive qualitative study of intermediaries was undertaken. The data was collected through purposive sampling method and 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted with the interviewees. The interviewees represented the insurance intermediaries from different divisions with varying experiences. The feedback was analysed through thematic content analysis. The study concluded that South African short-term insurance intermediaries are not ready for the threat of digital disintermediation. Furthermore, the study concludes that the intermediaries are classified as late majority in the Diffusion of Innovations model.
Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2019.
ls2020
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
MBA

This thesis is focused on insurance business in Vietnam, life insurance and nonlife insurance market within the frame of past and present development. Important part of this thesis is also description of insurance intermediaries and reinsurance companies that are significant subjects in insurance market. Macroeconomic and sociodemographic conditions, in which insurance market operates, are described in first chapter. Vietnam insurance market is underdeveloped in comparison to European countries. On the other hand this sector is progressively developing and has large potential; especially in case government reforms will continue and will lead to international openness and free market economy in Vietnam.

У дослідженні охарактеризовано сутність взаємодії фінансових посередників на страховому, банківському та фондовому ринках. Побудовано економіко-математичну модель структурних рівнянь для характеристики взаємозв’язку фінансових посередників на страховому, банківському та фондовому ринках. Доведено адекватність побудованої моделі.
The study describes the essence of the interaction of financial intermediaries in the insurance, banking and stock markets. An economic-mathematical model of structural equations is constructed to characterize the relationship of financial intermediaries in the insurance, banking and stock markets. The adequacy of the constructed model is proved.

Il sistema delle garanzie finanziarie del mercato assicurativo è, allo stato attuale, oggetto di processi di riforma comunitari (c.d. progetto Solvency II). Le ipotesi fino ad ora elaborate, nonostante siano lontane dal potersi definire conclusive, prevedono l'apprezzamento del margine di solvibilità relativo al rischio di tasso d'interesse (IRR) assumendo che la struttura per scadenza sia oggetto di shift paralleli della curva. Noti i limiti dell'approccio deterministico ed in forza dei principi fino ad ora consolidati, il presente elaborato si propone l'obiettivo di quantificare il requisito di capitale di una compagnia operante nel ramo vita, a fronte dell'IRR, ipotizzando che la dinamica dei tassi sia governata da un processo stocastico nella forma del modello Cox Ingersoll e Ross (CIR). Le simulazioni sono state sviluppate sugli equilibri patrimoniali di una teorica compagnia, al fine di apprezzare in maniera asettica il contributo dell'impostazione promossa.
Nowadays, the financial guarantees system of insurance market is being interested by a Community reform process (Solvency II project). Even if the current hypothesis are far to be definitive, the present guidelines state that the Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR) related to Interest Rate Risk (IRR) has to be quantified assuming deterministic shocks to the yield curve. The aim of the thesis is to improve the assessment of SCR connected to IRR, calculating interest rates according to Cox, Ingersoll and Ross (cir) stochastic model. Simulations are developed on the asset liability equilibria of a theoretical life insurance company, in order to better appreciate the SCR algebra sensitivity to changes in CIR model parameters.

Il sistema delle garanzie finanziarie del mercato assicurativo è, allo stato attuale, oggetto di processi di riforma comunitari (c.d. progetto Solvency II). Le ipotesi fino ad ora elaborate, nonostante siano lontane dal potersi definire conclusive, prevedono l'apprezzamento del margine di solvibilità relativo al rischio di tasso d'interesse (IRR) assumendo che la struttura per scadenza sia oggetto di shift paralleli della curva. Noti i limiti dell'approccio deterministico ed in forza dei principi fino ad ora consolidati, il presente elaborato si propone l'obiettivo di quantificare il requisito di capitale di una compagnia operante nel ramo vita, a fronte dell'IRR, ipotizzando che la dinamica dei tassi sia governata da un processo stocastico nella forma del modello Cox Ingersoll e Ross (CIR). Le simulazioni sono state sviluppate sugli equilibri patrimoniali di una teorica compagnia, al fine di apprezzare in maniera asettica il contributo dell'impostazione promossa.
Nowadays, the financial guarantees system of insurance market is being interested by a Community reform process (Solvency II project). Even if the current hypothesis are far to be definitive, the present guidelines state that the Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR) related to Interest Rate Risk (IRR) has to be quantified assuming deterministic shocks to the yield curve. The aim of the thesis is to improve the assessment of SCR connected to IRR, calculating interest rates according to Cox, Ingersoll and Ross (cir) stochastic model. Simulations are developed on the asset liability equilibria of a theoretical life insurance company, in order to better appreciate the SCR algebra sensitivity to changes in CIR model parameters.

Nel corso degli ultimi venti anni, l’industria dei servizi finanziari ha mostrato una forte tendenza all’integrazione e al consolidamento: in Europa il fenomeno della bancassicurazione ha conosciuto un particolare successo, sollecitando l’interesse del mondo accademico e professionale. Come sottolineato da Chen et al. (2008), la maggior parte degli studi sulla bancassicurazione presenta carattere descrittivo e analizza in modo qualitativo i vantaggi e gli svantaggi per le imprese finanziarie coinvolte. Le poche verifiche empiriche dei benefici derivanti dalla bancassicurazione risultano concentrate sulla riduzione del rischio ottenibile grazie alla combinazione di due attività non perfettamente correlate fra loro. I benefici in termini di efficienza, derivanti da sinergie di costo e di ricavo, rimangono invece un tema poco esplorato, nonostante le economie di scopo sia uno dei più validi motivi economici per la diversificazione delle banche nel settore assicurativo. L’obiettivo della tesi è quindi quello di valutare se le iniziative di bancassicurazione consentano la realizzazione di economie di costo e di ricavo, sia dal punto di vista delle banche che delle compagnie di assicurazione. I risultati dell’analisi di frontiera condotta nel settore bancario forniscono solo deboli evidenze a favore della bancassicurazione. L’analisi del settore assicurativo mostra come la vendita di polizze vita tramite sportelli bancari sia una valida strategia distributiva, pur evidenziando come i prodotti a elevato contenuto finanziario, caratteristici della bancassicurazione, siano meno onerosi da gestire, ma anche meno profittevoli, soprattutto nelle fasi di mercato meno euforiche. Il mix di prodotti, quindi, deve essere continuamente rivisto per rispondere ai mutamenti nelle esigenze della clientela e nell’andamento dei mercati finanziari. Alla luce di tali considerazioni, le banche dovrebbero scegliere attentamente il proprio modello di bancassicurazione, considerando anche le alternative più flessibili, come la sigla di accordi di distribuzione o di alleanze strategiche non equity.
During the last 20 years, financial services industry has experimented a general trend of integration and consolidation: in Europe the combination between the banking and the insurance activities, named “bancassurance”, has become particularly successful, catching the attention of managers and academia. As outlined in Chen et al. (2008), most studies dealing with bancassurance have only been descriptive in nature, providing a broad insight into economic rationales, advantages and drawbacks for all the institutions involved. Only few authors have provided quantitative findings, focussing on the potential risk diversification benefits associated with bank expansion into the insurance industry, while potential efficiency gains are still a poorly investigated issue, even if cost and revenue synergies are commonly recognised as the most valid economic rationale. The aim of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon assessing if bancassurance results in efficiency gains from both the banking and the insurance sides. Results from the Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) on the banking side show only weak evidence in favour of entering the life business. Investigating the insurance side, we find that the competitive viability of bancassurance as a distribution channel is relevant and consolidated, especially from the cost side, while insurance products with an high financial content appear less profitable than traditional protection insurance. As a consequence the mix of products should be continuously revised in the light of customers’ needs and financial markets evolution; then banks should carefully choose the most convenient bancassurance model, considering also the alternative of flexible and reversible forms of cooperation, such as cross selling agreements and non equity financial alliances.

Il settore assicurativo europeo è stato nell’ultimo decennio al centro di un importante processo di concentrazione stimolato da fattori quali, tra gli altri, deregulation e cicli positivi dei mercati azionari. Una parte rilevante delle M&A che hanno interessato assicurazioni europee ha avuto inoltre carattere cross-border. Allo scopo di contribuire alla letteratura esistente, la presente tesi di dottorato analizza, tramite la tecnica dell’event study, gli effetti di creazione di valore determinati sui prezzi azionari delle imprese coinvolte dall’annuncio di 33 operazioni di aggregazione intraprese nel periodo 1997-2006 da assicurazioni europee nei confronti di altre assicurazioni ovvero di banche o altri intermediari finanziari. I risultati, in linea con la prevalente letteratura in materia di aggregazioni nel settore finanziario, mostrano rendimenti anomali cumulati (CAR) lievemente negativi per l’assicurazione acquirente, sensibilmente positivi per l’impresa acquisita e complessivamente identificano effetti di tenue distruzione di valore per l’operazione nel suo complesso. L’analisi multivariata dei rendimenti anomali mette in luce la preferenza del mercato verso operazioni di aggregazione su scala transnazionale, in accordo con le evidenze della letteratura che ipotizza una sorta di specialità del settore assicurativo rispetto al grado di internazionalità dei processi aggregativi, dimostrando la presenza di minori barriere implicite ad investimenti stranieri rispetto al mercato bancario. Il mercato ha inoltre attribuito una maggiore capacità di creazione di valore alle operazioni di crescita esterna che hanno interessato target di dimensione e volume d’affari relativamente piccoli rispetto all’acquirente, scontando minori difficoltà di integrazione. Infine, i CAR della società target sono risultati tanto più positivi quanto più l’assicurazione acquirente fosse caratterizzata da dimensione rilevante e performance reddituali positive, lasciando ipotizzare un beneficio per gli azionisti dell’impresa acquisita legato allo standing dell’acquirente.
European insurance industry faced in the last 10 years a relevant consolidation process that was enhanced by, among others, deregulation and positive market cycles. A significant part of M&A transactions regarding European insurers was cross-border. In order to contribute to the existing literature, this thesis analyses through an event study technique the wealth effects on share prices related to the announcement of 33 M&As in which a European insurer acquired an insurer, a bank or another financial institution in the period 1997-2006. The results, in accordance with the major literature regarding consolidation in financial industry, show slightly negative cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) for the acquiring insurer, material positive CARs for the target institution and identify very little wealth destruction effects for the transaction as a whole. A multivariate analysis of CAR shows market preference for cross-border integration; this result is in line with a literary strand that assumes sort of a specialty of insurance sector as regard to the internationality of M&A activity, indicating that implicit barriers to foreign investment are less relevant than in banking market. Moreover, market judged as value enhancing the acquisitions of targets of relative lower dimension compared to the acquirer, assuming lesser integration threats. Finally, the higher the dimension and the performance of the acquirer insurer, the higher the target CAR. This may indicate the existence for target shareholders of a “benefit” related to the acquirer standing.

Wohlverhaltenspflichten im Rahmen des Vertriebs von Kapitalanlage- und Versicherungsprodukten dienen dem System- und dem Kundenschutz und sind aus ökonomischer Sicht erforderlich, um den zwischen Finanzdienstleistern und Kunden bestehenden strukturellen Informationsasymmetrien zu begegnen. Da das Finanzdienstleistungsgeschäft von einer zunehmenden Finanzkonglomeration und dem Verschwimmen der althergebrachten Sektorengrenzen geprägt ist, ist eine sektorenübergreifende Regelung der Wohlverhaltenspflichten de lege ferenda zu begrüßen. Dies ist insbesondere auch wettbewerbspolitisch geboten, um die mehr und mehr mit ähnlichen Produkten um die gleichen Kundengruppen werbenden Finanzdienstleister der Versicherungs- und Wertpapierbranche vergleichbaren Vorschriften im Hinblick auf den Umgang mit dem Kunden zu unterwerfen. Der Katalog vertriebsbezogener Wohlverhaltenspflichten ist sowohl den unterschiedlichen Schutzbedürfnissen der Finanzdienstleistungsempfänger als auch dem Grad der Abhängigkeit des Vermittlers vom „Hersteller“ des Finanzprodukts anzupassen. Eine Auftrennung von Finanzdienstleistungen in einen von unterschiedlichen Dienstleistern geleisteten Vermittlungs- und Beratungsteil ist ökonomisch sinnvoll, dürfte aber praktisch aufgrund der Marktgegebenheiten selbst durch massive regulatorische Eingriffe kaum realisierbar sein. Im Hinblick auf die Vollendung des europäischen Binnenmarktes für Finanzdienstleistungen ist eine Vollharmonisierung gemeinsamer vertriebsbezogener Wohlverhaltensregeln für den Kapitalanlage- und den Versicherungssektor erforderlich. Europaweite Wohlverhaltenspflichten lassen im Zusammenhang mit der Entwicklung der einst getrennten Bank-, Wertpapier- und Versicherungsdienstleistungsunternehmen zu Allfinanzkonzernen eine einheitliche europäische Finanzmarktaufsicht näher rücken.
Conduct of Business rules governing the provision of investment and insurance services and products protect both the system and the customers of such services. They are essential from an economic point of view in order to counter the structural information asymmetries between financial services providers and their customers. Since the provision of financial services is marked by a growing conglomeration and a dissolution of the sectoral boundaries of old, cross-sector conduct of business rules should be introduced. This is required in particular in order to ensure a level playing field for the financial services providers in both the insurance and the investment sector that increasingly compete with similar products for the same groups of customers. Conduct of business rules have to be adapted according to the diverging needs for protection of the different financial services recipients as well as the degree of dependency of the provider/intermediary from the “producer” of the financial product/service. Economically financial services providing brokerage and those providing advice should be separate, however, practically such a separation is unlikely to change much even with massive regulatory intervention due to the well-established structure of the market. As regards the completion of a European Common Market for Financial Services a complete harmonisation of conduct of business rules in both the investment services and the insurance sector is necessary. In turn, European-wide conduct of business rules in conjunction with the growing financial conglomeration of the formerly separate banking, investment services and insurance sectors call for a common European Financial Services Authority.

Дисертаційна робота присвячена вирішенню наукової проблеми розвитку теоретико-методологічних і методичних засад розбудови фінансового нагляду в України. У дисертації уточнено понятійно-категоріальний апарат дослідження фінансового нагляду, обґрунтовано концептуальні відмінності фінансового нагляду від інших функцій держави у фінансовому секторі, запропоновано класифікацію фінансового нагляду, визначено умови досягнення фінансової стійкості як мети фінансового нагляду, обґрунтовано концептуальні засади стратегічного розвитку фінансового нагляду, розроблено науково-методичний підхід щодо визначення відповідності нагляду міжнародним принципам, запропоновано науково-методичний підхід щодо оцінювання незалежності наглядових органів, розроблено періодизацію розвитку фінансового нагляду в Україні, розроблено методичне підґрунтя комплексного оцінювання і порівняння дотримання вимог банківської діяльності, досліджено особливості нагляду за діяльністю небанківських фінансових посередників в Україні, розроблено моделі прогнозування фінансового стану фінансових посередників та науково-методичні підходи до визначення максимально граничного значення нормативу достатності регулятивного капіталу банків, оцінювання системної важливості фінансових посередників, визначення системного ризику фінансового сектору та аналізу взаємозв’язку між стійкістю фінансового сектора та розвитком фінансового сектора й соціально-економічним розвитком країн.
Диссертационная работа посвящена решению научной проблемы развития теоретико-методологических и методических основ совершенствования финансового надзора в Украине. В диссертации углублен понятийно-категориальный аппарат исследования финансового надзора, обоснованы концептуальные различия финансового надзора от других функций государства в финансовом секторе, предложена классификация финансового надзора, определены условия достижения финансовой устойчивости как цели финансового надзора, обоснована концепция стратегического развития финансового надзора, разработан научно-методический подход к определению соответствия надзора международным принципам, предложен научно-методический подход к оценке независимости надзорных органов, разработана периодизация развития финансового надзора в Украине, предложен методический подход к комплексной оценке соблюдения требований банковской деятельности, исследованы особенности надзора за деятельностью небанковских финансовых посредников в Украине, разработаны модели прогнозирования финансового состояния финансовых посредников и научно-методические подходы к определению максимально предельного значения норматива достаточности регулятивного капитала банков, оцениванию системной важности финансовых посредников, определению системного риска финансового сектора и анализу взаимосвязей между устойчивостью финансового сектора и развитием финансового сектора и социально-экономическим развитием стран.
The thesis is devoted to developing theoretical, methodological and methodical foundations and practical tools for financial supervision in Ukraine and working out practical recommendations aimed at its improvement. According to the results of the structural-decomposition analysis, the categorical apparatus of financial supervision was specified in the dissertation. It was proposed to understand financial supervision from the point of view of managerial and organizational approaches. The conceptual differences between financial supervision and other state functions in the financial sector in particular financial regulation, financial control, and financial monitoring were defined, which made it possible to determine their common and distinctive features regarding the purpose, object, subjects and employing methods. The essence of financial soundness and conditions for its achievement as a goal of financial supervision were determined by incorporation of criteria of reliability, transparency, and efficiency in the work of financial intermediaries, financial market and supervisory bodies. The study of strategic and fundamental documents related to the economic system, the financial sector, and financial supervision revealed a superficial and fragmentary approach to defining the current situation, key issues in financial supervision, and directions for their solution. To solve this problem, the concept of strategic development of financial supervision was developed, based on a combination of such approaches: institutional, functional, structural and resultant. The paper determined the quantitative assessments of the compliance of financial supervision with international principles in general and in its directions in accordance with the structure of the financial sector by means of a grade and score of the implementation of each of the principles and the use of the arithmetic mean and geometric meanwhile. It gave a comprehensive assessment of the compliance of national supervisory systems with international standards and best world practices. According to the results of the evaluation, it was established that, among all international financial supervision principles, the practical implementation of the principles related to ensuring an adequate level of institutional, operational and financial independence and accountability of supervisory bodies remained the most problematic. The institutional structure of financial supervision in Ukraine was identified as sectoral: financial supervisors have been established for the banking sector, non-bank financial intermediaries and the securities market. The assessment of the independence of financial supervision was carried out by calculating diffuse indices in accordance with the rating assessments of the criteria of institutional, operational and financial independence. It allowed creating the basis for the proper performance of the function of financial supervision by the state. Based on indicators of banks, insurance companies, credit unions, pawnshops, financial companies, pension funds, and securities market applied a hierarchical method of cluster analysis the stages of the financial sector development were defined, which became the basis for identifying key changes in the financial regulation and supervision. In order to assess the level of compliance with banking requirements, an integral indicator was determined, its dynamics and regularities were analysed. Financial requirements of insurance companies, credit unions, asset management companies and entities which manage assets of private pension funds, professional securities market participants engaged in securities trading, institutional asset management, depository activities of clearing activities, organization of trade on the stock market, as well as institutional investors were investigated in areas of capital adequacy, liquidity, solvency, management of significant risks, assets diversification. In the context of the bankruptcy of a large number of financial intermediaries in recent years, it was advisable to forecast their financial situation. The formalization of forecasting the state of financial intermediaries was carried out using a linear, logit-and probit-regression. The predictors for regression were chosen employing F-test for dispersions, Farrar – Globe algorithm, and correlation coefficients. Methodical approach to the determination of the maximum value of the adequacy ratio of regulatory capital of banks with a view to ensuring the minimum level of compliance of banking supervision was formed under the component ‘adequacy of regulatory capital – credit risks’ and ‘liquidity – investment’. It served as an empirical basis for the establishment and adjusting banking requirements. The financial crisis revealed the financial sector’s excessive dependence on systemically important financial intermediaries so that the scientific approach for determining their systemic importance was developed in the work. It involved market share, equity-to-asset ratio, return on assets ratio and interconnection with other financial intermediaries and identification of the different types of financial intermediaries, which allowed reducing the risk of regulatory arbitrage. An example of systemically important banks and non-life insurance companies demonstrated the relationship between the activities of systemically important financial intermediaries and financial and economic macroeconomic indicators. In order to assess the systemic financial risk, indicators of the functioning of the sector of financial corporations and institutional sectors that affect the financial sector (non-financial corporations, households, government, ‘other world’) and macroeconomic factors were used. Their ranges of values were defined according to international data financial statistics, recommendations and standards of international financial organizations. Based on the binary characteristics and weight coefficients found employing the principal components method, quantitative and qualitative levels of the financial systemic risk in Ukraine were determined. A summary assessment of financial soundness was based on the IMF’s financial soundness indicators. Taking into account the importance of not only financial soundness but also the financial development, a comparative evaluation of these characteristics of the financial sector for developed and developing countries was carried out using the matrix method, which became the basis for grouping countries and determining the patterns of their movement in clusters. Employing nonparametric methods, the impact of financial soundness on the socio-economic development of the countries was demonstrated, which allowed denying the negative and significantly restraining influence of increasing financial soundness, which requires strengthening the supervision requirements for financial intermediaries, economic growth and socio-economic development of developed countries, as well as developing countries.

The insurance product is marketed by various distribution channels, most notably that of the insurance intermediary. The extent of the intermediary‟s role within the insurance transaction, exposes the intermediary to liability risks; these liabilities could arise either in contract, delict or statute or be sui generis. This dissertation sets out the extent of the legal liabilities exposure of insurance intermediaries within the South African market against an international background and the insurance thereof.

of thesis titled Insurance intermediaries and supervision over their activities. In my thesis I deal with legislation status and activities of insurance intermediaries. The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first one is devoted to general insurance and the insurance law. I emphasize the importance of the sector and necessity its legal regulation. I mention the roots and development of insurance legislation since 1989. The core of my work is the second chapter, which describes the importance of insurance intermediaries, their function and relationship to other distribution paths. I am talking about the history of the business and its legal regulation and focusing on the development of regulatory activities of insurance brokers since 1989. View of the earlier legislation is important because the anchor institutions and concepts that are still part of the applicable law. The most important part of my theses is a evaluation od the existing legislation, the Act on Insurance Intermediaries, Insurance Act and the Insurance Contract Act in relation to insurance intermediaries. I describe types of contractual arrangements under the Commercial Code that are applicable to insurance intermediaries cooperation with other entities. From the legislation of the Act on Insurance Intermediaries, I focused...

This MA thesis is concerned with insurance distribution in the Czech Republic. It aims to acquaint the reader with individual distribution channels within the context of current and upcoming regulatory framework. Regarding methodology, it makes use of the descriptive, analytical and empirical approach to legal research. The first chapter, The Insurance Market, introduces the gross written premium as the key metric in the insurance industry and it segments the written premium into the main product lines. Further, it deals with sources that will be relied on throughout the thesis and presents the necessary terminology. The second chapter outlines the distribution channels framework through which the insurance products are sold to customers. From the perspective of an insurance undertaking the main distinction is on the internal and external channels. The legal categories of intermediaries and the methods of communication with the customer do not form any particular channel, instead they are understood as cross-channel. The MA thesis is submitted in the period when the applicable Intermediaries Act is about to be superseded by the forthcoming Insurance Distribution Act. That is reflected in the third chapter that is divided into two subchapters, each dedicated to the analysis of the distribution...

Legal regulation of activities of insurance intermediaries This thesis is focused on an analysis of valid domestic legal regulation of activities of insurance intermediaries and an analysis of the newly adopted EU legislation and its possible impact on domestic legislation. Descriptive, analytic and comparative methods are used in order to achieve the object of this thesis. The first chapter of this thesis is devoted to acquainting the reader with the legal regulation of insurance, the description of insurance as a separate economic branch and to a short excursion into the history of insurance. In the remainder of the chapter I deal with the distribution channels of insurance products. A general introduction into the field of insurance should help the reader to understand the legal regulation of actions of insurance intermediaries. The second chapter is aimed at a description and analysis of the legal regulation of activities of insurance intermediaries currently in force. In the beginning of the chapter I briefly describe the functions of insurance intermediaries and further explain the interpretation of basic statutory definitions. The largest part of this chapter is dedicated to an analysis of the current system of categorization of insurance intermediaries and the conditions for the exercise...

碩士
淡江大學
中國大陸研究所碩士班
93
Along with the economy growth and market superiority rising in Mainland China, the global finance industries take the market seriously, and Taiwan is not exceptional. In April 2004, Mainland China had already allowed our country life insurance company to open the joint capital life insurance company in china. However it is an opportunity and also a challenge to Taiwan when the system and the management experience both are not mature in China insurance intermediary market. It needs to consider all kinds of subjective and objective factors in choosing the insurance intermediary market, therefore this research uses of the questionnaire to carry on Analytic Hierarch Process (AHP), and discuss the Taiwan life insurance industry choice strategy. And we uses " life insurance company sales", "bancassurance", " insurance agents and brokers" three type to be the evaluation object of using the Channels. After putting the document in order and going to interview the expert operator, this research sums up in five evaluated standards and each standard has two for four measure indexes. Finally, this research uses Expert choice program to analyze 18 Taiwan life insurance operators who interesting in china market. After analyzing, The factors which effect choosing the insurance intermediary market in sequence are "Marketing benefit (0.243)", " channel potential(0.241)","channel compliance(0.206)","image establishment (0.166)","expense cost (0.144)", but the evaluation object chooses the order is: "life insurance company sales (0.443)", "bancassurance (0.291)", "insurance agents and brokers (0.266)". The conclusion induces the direction that Taiwan insurance choosing insurance intermediary market in china, respectively for grows over a long period of time; notice to change the fast market; and most important is company sales; company culture transplants. And using the result of empirical analysis to search every evaluation object''s strength and weakness.

碩士
淡江大學
保險學系保險經營碩士在職專班
101
This thesis focuses on the laws and rules of insurance intermediaries, as know as insurance agent and insurance broker, in Taiwan. Through the comparison of insurance intermediaries systems among the USA, the UK, Japan, and China, I noticed there are differences in sales channel, business, professional guarantee, and supervision for insurance intermediaries among these countries, and some of these distinguished features could be learned and followed for Taiwan. However, due to country differences that make the learning and following harder, and the reflections toward the financial crisis in 2008 that these legislation systems in the USA, the UK, Japan, and China would probably about to making some major structural changes, the best solution for modifying the insurance intermediaries law system in Taiwan comes to the 2011 ICPs arranged by IAIS that compromise and mitigate the global standards, as for more efficiency and consistency. Hence, by outlining and comparing the ICP 18: Intermediaries and ICP 19: Conduct of Business to the laws and rules in Taiwan both related to insurance intermediaries, I conclude five improvement issues, that is proficiency, protection toward customers, law and supervision, information disclosure, and the services after sales. These directions could be adopted for future legislation of insurance intermediaries in Taiwan.

碩士
淡江大學
保險學系保險經營碩士在職專班
97
A complete insurance market consists of insurers, policy holders, and intermediaries. Without any of those three parties, this market would not be possible. As far as the marketing strategy is concerned, aside from traditional selling channel like agents, the intermediary is also a cost-saving channel we can not ignore. Furthermore, business alignment, database marketing and direct marketing are also mixing selling channels for helping insurers to take the lead in this competition. Insurance business in Taiwan has been developed under the government’s control and protection for a long time. Since Taiwan joined WTO, the insurers have been facing the challenges from market open and globalization. The old-fashioned tradition channels which the insurers reply on are not able to meet the needs of this new era. From consumers’ point of view, the role of the intermediary has been changed from a product distributor to a professional financial consultant. This channel has become so crucial to all insurers. Every insurer tries its best to develop this channel to bring in more new business. However, more problems caused due to such keen competition. Documents analysis is the main research method in my paper. I also refer to insurance fraud prevention principles and actual prevention actions taken by United States, United Kingdom, Japan and China. Afterwards, I found that Taiwan simply focused on external insurance fraud when implementing insurance fraud prevention. However, ignorance of insurance products and trading behavior would also become the warm bed for internal fraud. Particularly once the intermediary is not controlled by the fraud prevention systems, such leak will result in serious drawbacks. To modify regulations is strongly suggested. It is necessary to define the responsibilities of intermediaries in insurance fraud. The authority concerned should provide distinct guide about fraud indicators and fraud cases for insurers and intermediaries to follow. As well, it is a must to implement insurance fraud prevention training and reporting system. The above which were mentioned will strengthen our insurance operation monitoring and management.

of the thesis The subject of my thesis is existing shortcomings in regulation of insurance mediation and possible ways of their rectification. Its first introductory chapter explains who insurance intermediaries are and how significant role they play in distribution of insurance products and specifies the scope of the thesis, its aims and methods. The second chapter is devoted to the legal regulation of insurance mediation adopted at the level of European Union and its aspects. It provides a brief description of history of the EU regulation of insurance mediation and more detailed description of its recent state represented by the Insurance Mediation Directive. The third chapter of the thesis deals with the legal regulation of insurance mediation adopted at the Czech national level, which is represented by the Act on insurance intermediaries and independent loss adjusters and respective decree of the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic. In the fourth chapter I summarize the existing shortcomings in legal regulation of insurance mediation both at EU and Czech level which I have identified on basis of legal literature specialized on this topic, comparison of Czech national regulation with its European model as well as my own analysis, and make proposals how to possibly rectify the existing...

碩士
淡江大學
保險學系保險經營碩士在職專班
98
Starting in January 2010, the China-ASEAN Regional Free Trade Area (CAFTA) has formally been activated, making it the third largest free trade zone around the world, trailing only behind the North American Free Trade Zone (NAFTA) and the European Union (EU). As marred by the unique cross-strait political factors, Taiwan has been kept absent from the integration of the Asian region, which is deemed unfavorable to Taiwan’s future investment and development in the East Asia region. With the cross-strait relations entering a new era of peaceful development, the expeditious signing of the cross strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) is deemed favorable for us to participate in the rapidly growing regional alliance for safeguarding Taiwan’s industry competitiveness, and reviving Taiwan’s economy. Following China and Taiwan’s successfully joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, and as bound by the content of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the two sides have each committed to a scope by which to deregulate their respective financial services industry, including the insurance industry’s committing to direct insurance services, the reinsurance and re-reinsurance operations, insurance brokering, insurance facilitation service and the like. And following the two sides’ entering into the memorandum of understanding on cross-strait financial cooperation, by which the two sides are able to establish and enjoy a financial supervisory platform, through which to further excel the cross-strait financial exchange and cooperation, yet a requisite lies in that Taiwan needs to gain a foothold on the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in order to secure a more favorable treatment than the WTO in market entry and business deregulation conditions, which will facilitate Taiwan’s insurance operators to enter the mainland market. In the meantime, Taiwan also needs to amend relevant management measures to allow the mainland insurance operators to set up office and participate in stock investment in Taiwan. At a time when the mainland insurance brokering operators will soon join Taiwan’s fiercely competitive market, the study aims to delve into a comparison study and analysis by utilizing the table of commitment by the cross-strait insurance operators as bound by the World Trade Organization, and by assessing the insurance brokering industry’s current market condition, characteristics and legal and regulatory guidelines and so forth to summarize and evaluate the various indicators for admitting the mainland Chinese insurance operators, and to examine the timetable and model for deregulating mainland Chinese insurance brokering operators to enter the Taiwan market by utilizing the Delphi expert questionnaire survey method. Based on findings derived from the two questionnaire surveys, the four constructs (the legal and regulatory policy, outlet launching, stock market participation, business operations) have been used to consolidate the experts’ viewpoints, which recommend that it is feasible for the cross-strait authorities to mutually deregulate equal citizenship treatment by instilling a common vocabulary and mutually recognizing the insurance brokering professional certification and related measures as the negotiation objectives, through which to create a win-win situation for the cross-strait insurance broking industry.

碩士
世新大學
傳播管理學研究所(含碩專班)
100
The entering of CNinsure Inc. into the Nasdaq Global Market in Oct. 2007, shocked the whole insurance industry in mainland China. It is the first Asian public Insurance intermediary company on the capital market. Among the 100 insurance companies at the time, only three became public companies on the market of America and Hong kong. Being an insurance intermediary company, without much of a position in the industry, brand advantage or capital, its entrance into the Nasdaq indeed sets up a case of success for the other Chinese insurance companies and experts to carry out researches and studies, which also attracts a group of elite of the industry to join the insurance intermediary industry. With the establishment of headquarters of insurance intermediary companies in the first-tier cities and second-tier cities，they search for better industrial model, innovation of the profit model and build their own brands for their insurance intermediary companies to try to earn a position in the areas with the fastest increase of insurance business. As the product sold in the industry of finance and insurance is special and the management & operational model of insurance intermediary companies mainly focuses on insurance and service selling, innovation and creativity are essential in industry positioning, company culture construction, brand promotion strategy and marketing activity and development. In addition, it is of great significance to probe the issues of how to establish a new company in a new market situation merely with the proper employment of the appropriate brand strategy, how to promote positive industrial prospect and investment value, how to guide the employees to adopt right employment views, based on the fact that this industry is of light assets and people are the core in exploring and developing the business. By using the tact and method in brand-strategy decision, this research focuses on the channels of promotion and target, assisting a newly-become public company of insurance intermediary to construct and promote its brand, attract more capital and talents, earn the recognition from the suppliers, seek for cooperation and eventually accepted by consumers so as to achieve the goal of the company.

of the thesis In this thesis I deal with a comprehensive view of the legal regulation of the activity of insurance intermediaries, including a look into the history, analysis of the current national and European legislation and the expected development of national regulations. Work has been divided into four chapters. The first chapter is dedicated to the insurance industry as a specific economic sector. Here I define the concept of insurance, dealing with the history of the industry and briefly mention the existing legal regulations of insurance in the Czech Republic. At the end of the first chapter I analyze the various distribution networks in the insurance industry with reference to the inclusion of insurance intermediaries as the most important distribution channel. The second chapter is devoted to detailing the significance of insurance intermediaries and the nature of their activities. Similar to the first chapter, here is also a part briefly focused on a historical development of insurance intermediaries activities. A substantial part of this chapter is devoted to current legislation, of which the most important institutions are analyzed in separate sections. Gradually deal with the Insurance Intermediaries Act as a whole, individual categories of insurance intermediaries, the conditions of...

Celem dysertacji jest jest zidentyfikowanie znajomości i oceny warunków ubezpieczeń kredytowych sprzedawanych w bankach (bancassurance) przez klientów instytucji finansowych. Obecnie powszechność polis dołączanych do kredytów jest bardzo duża, ponieważ są one sprzedawane przez banki od razu przy okazji zaciągania kredytów.W niniejszym pracy zaprezentowano studium literatury przedmiotu oraz wyniki badań własnych. Badanie zostało przeprowadzone na reprezentatywnej grupie w dniach 3–7 kwietnia 2015 roku. Wyniki pokazują, jak ubezpieczenia dołączane do produktów bankowych są zrozumiałe przez kredytobiorców i przez nich oceniane. Wnioski z badań własnych stanowią punkt wyjścia do określenia rekomendacji poprawiających przejrzystość umów i warunków sprzedaży w zakresie bancassurance. Analiza porównawcza z systemami stosowanymi w innych europejskich krajach pozwala na wyciągnięcie dodatkowych wniosków do potrzebnych zmian w konstrukcji tych produktów oraz w procesie sprzedaży bankowych ubezpieczeń kredytowych.
This dissertation aims to identify the knowledge and assessment of the conditions of credit insurance sold by banks (bancassurance) by customers of financial institutions. Currently universality policies attached to loans is very large, because they are sold by banks immediately on the occasion of borrowing.Author presented literature review and outcomes of their own research results. The study was conducted on a representative group on 3–7 April 2015. The results show how the insurance attached to bank products are understood and evaluated by the borrowers. Conclusions from the study could be a starting point to conduct changes in polish system. A comparative analysis of other European countries may allow conclusions to be drawn about the necessary changes in the design of these products and in the process of selling the credit insurance in banks.

Defence date: 10 September 2004
Examining board: Prof. Jens Alber (Wissenschaftszentrum für Sozialforschung, Berlin) ; Prof. Stefano Bartolini (EUI, Supervisor) ; Prof. Colin Crouch (EUI) ; Prof. Peter Flora (University of Mannheim)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 2017

The protection of clients in their dealings with insurance advisors is very important. This is mainly because clients are not too knowledgeable about insurance products. This lack of knowledge makes vulnerable to exploitation by insurance advisors. It is the duty of the regulator of insurance to ensure adequate protection of clients in their dealings with insurance advisors. However, this may not be easily attainable in a jurisdiction like Lesotho where there is only one regulator for all financial institutions, the Central Bank of Lesotho. This more so because insurance is very complex as there are different persons and contracts involved. The client has to firstly deal with insurance advisors or intermediaries before an actual contract of insurance comes into existence. In Lesotho the insurance sector is regulated by the Insurance Act 18 of 1976. Although there are systems in place regarding the regulation of the insurance industry, they are not adequate nor guarantee effective protection of the clients. These measures are mainly focused on the relationship between the Commissioner and the insurance advisors and not the relationship between the insurance advisors and the clients. The ineffectiveness of the current regulatory framework in Lesotho was exposed by the MKM situation in 2007 which showed that clients in Lesotho are to a very large extent left unprotected against insurance advisors. Even the proposed Insurance Bill of 2013 which was meant to address problems not addressed by the Insurance Act, does not offer any assistance as it contains no provisions on the protection of clients. The problem with the legal framework in Lesotho is that does not address the most important of protection of clients in their dealings with insurance advisors. This is also due to the fact that there is only one regulator for all financial institutions and this places a very burdensome duty on the Central Bank of Lesotho. In order to find solutions to this problem, a comparative study based on literature was done between Lesotho and South Africa. This is because South Africa on the other hand is more advance. The current legal framework in South Africa ensures the protection of clients in their dealings with insurance advisors. The non-banking institutions such as insurance advisors are regulated by the Financial Services Board. There are systems in place in South Africa regulating the conduct of insurance advisors towards clients. The Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act is one of the measures in place meant to ensure that those who render advice are fit and proper by requiring them, amongst others, to be in possession of relevant academic qualifications and operational ability to dispose of their duties in terms of the Act. This is different from the position in Lesotho where the only piece of legislation regulating the insurance advisors is the Insurance Act. Furthermore, by virtue of section 2B of the General Proclamation of 1884, the common law of South Africa is applicable in Lesotho so it is important to examine the changes that South Africa has made to it common law on which Lesotho mostly relies. The results show that the clients in Lesotho are to a very large extent left unprotected against insurance advisors as the current legal framework offers them no protection. The legal framework in South Africa on the other hand affords clients more protection. However, economic position of Lesotho it would not be ideal to take all measures applicable in South Africa and apply them to Lesotho as they are. Based on these findings recommendations made include that the Commissioner must engage in consumer education to ensure that clients know about their rights in dealings with insurance advisors. Another recommendation made is that the current legal framework be amended to include provisions relating to the protection of clients. It is also recommended that the Central Bank of Lesotho is well equipped to deal with matters relating to the protection of clients.
LLM (Estate Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The world has been shaping itself for a digital overhaul, forcing many industries to radically adapt and find new and innovative procedures. In the health insurance industry, this transformation has pushed companies to expand from their traditional salesperson methods to more sophisticated online networks, with readily available solutions. In addition, a shift in logic has increased the leveraging power of customers, becoming drivers of innovation through the data that they provide to firms. Consequently, the main objective of this dissertation is to explore how collecting customer satisfaction data can aid in the prediction of the distribution channel of choice when buying health insurance. By working closely with a real company, Saúde Prime, we delve into the current state of the industry, identify key roles in the service-ecosystem, such as intermediaries, and examine how customers value health insurance services. To easily take advantage of this data, Machine Learning algorithms were used, due to their scalability and interpretability towards complex features. The predictive analysis introduces customer satisfaction metrics as a strong predictor of customer’s preferences in regard to the chosen channel - intermediary - for purchasing health insurance, connected to the level of technological literacy and the degree of importance given to the relationship with the mediator. Results indicate that most customers will opt for traditional channels, presenting a digital landscape still in its inception phase.
O mundo tem vindo a moldar-se para uma transformação digital, forçando muitas indústrias a adaptar-se radicalmente e a encontrar procedimentos novos e inovadores. No sector dos seguros de saúde, esta transformação levou as empresas a expandir-se dos seus métodos tradicionais de venda, para redes mais sofisticadas, com soluções prontamente disponíveis. Além disso, uma mudança na lógica de serviços aumentou o poder de alavancagem dos clientes, tornando-os motores da inovação através dos dados que estes fornecem às empresas. Consequentemente, o principal objectivo desta dissertação é examinar como a recolha de dados sobre a satisfação do cliente pode ajudar na previsão da preferência de canal de distribuição ao comprar seguros de saúde. Colaborando com uma empresa real, Saúde Prime, exploramos o estado actual da indústria, identificamos papéis-chave no sistema de serviços, tais como intermediários, e examinamos como os clientes valorizam os serviços de seguros de saúde. Para tirar facilmente partido destes dados, foram utilizados algoritmos de Machine Learning, devido à sua escalabilidade e interpretabilidade para características complexas. A análise preditiva introduz métricas de satisfação do cliente como um forte indicador das suas preferências em relação ao canal de distribuição escolhido para a aquisição de seguros de saúde, ligado ao nível de literacia tecnológica e ao grau de importância dado à relação com o mediador. Os resultados indicam que a maioria dos clientes optará pelos canais tradicionais, apresentando um panorama digital ainda numa fase inicial.

碩士
銘傳大學
管理研究所碩士在職專班
99
Based on the relevant studies have shown that chronic stress can cause one’s personal life, family and career development problems. The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of EAP on employees’ burnout and the job stress for Taiwan’s high-tech, finance and insurance industry. The results of the reseach may provide a reference for the mangers in order to establish future Stress Problem Management, and enhance job productivity by using Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) to reduce staff job stress and burnout. An object of this study will focus on Taiwan’s high-tech, finance and insurance industry that already have EAP. Issued total 305 questionnaires, 192 are returned, 175 are valid, and returned rate is 63%. By conducting several methods such as surveys, questionnaires, SPSS Analysis Software and Data Analysis Methods (Pearson’s correlation analysis, T-test,Oneway ANOVA,Regression and K means) to study the hypothesis, the following theories were found : 1.Burnout is usually caused by emotional exhaustion in high-tech, finance and insurance industry. 2.The higest degree of Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) is Employee Benefit Programs in high-tech, finance and insurance industry. 3.The correlation between the cause of job stress and burnout is significant positive in high-tech, finance and insurance industry. 4.Employee Benefit Programs of EAP is the significant mediator of job stress and burnout. 5.Different individual attribute in high-tech, finance and insurance industry has interfered effect on cause of stress ,burnout and EAP. According to the results above, the research proposes the following suggestions for both managers and employess in high-tech, finance and insurance industry : 1.Enterprises should develop the stress management strategies for the staff to decrease burnout. 2.Enterprises should pay attention to the sources of stress and provide the right content of Employee Assistance Programs (EAP). 3.Enterprises should create a healthy lifestyle for employees and expand the diversity of employee benefits. 4.Enterprises should strengthen to provide family assistance programs. 5.Enterprises should strengthen the promotion of EAP to raise the employees’ motivation to participate. 6.Establish a well internal communication way to earn the commitment and support from top managers.