Narrow Your Choices

Refine By Countries

Refine By Series

Refine By Language

Refine By Date

—

Refine By IMF Taxonomy

Refine By JEL Taxonomy

Refine by LOC Taxonomy

Refine By THEMA Taxonomy

  • Print
  • Save

Business and Economics > Insurance

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 40 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
Clear All Modify Search
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Kingdom of the Netherlands-The Netherlands: Financial Sector Assessment Program- Technical Note on Insurance and Pension Fund Regulation and Supervision
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
This paper highlights a technical note on insurance and pension fund regulation and supervision in The Netherlands. The Dutch insurance sector is undergoing further consolidation, the life sector has been steadily shrinking over the last two decades, and the non-life market is relatively saturated. Investment exposures to real estate are increasing, and Dutch insurers are large providers of mortgage loans. Solvency ratios of Dutch insurers are well above the regulatory threshold, but below the EU average and furthermore distorted by the mechanics of the ‘Long-Term Guarantee Measures’ in Solvency II. The Dutch pension system—considered to be among the best according to international comparisons—rests on three pillars. Most pension schemes are defined-benefit pensions, which have come under pressure since 2008, when low interest rates resulted in declining funding ratio and led to an overall loss in confidence in the system. The Dutch system for independent state agencies, including De Nederlandsche Bank and Autoriteit Financiële Markten, carefully balances powers and accountability. Supervision of insurers and pension funds is effective in the Netherlands.
Keywords:
insurance regulation regime; pension fund regulation; solvency Assessment; International Monetary Fund Washington, D.C.; pension fund Sector; organization of Supervision; FSAP's finding; Pension spending; Insurance companies; Pensions; Insurance; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Trinidad and Tobago: Technical Assistance Report-Strengthening Cybersecurity in Financial Institutions
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
This technical note evaluates strengthening cybersecurity in financial institutions of Trinidad and Tobago. The deliverables included a capacity-building seminar on regulation of cyber risk. The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago identified the need for filling regulatory gaps and desires to issue a focused guideline on cybersecurity covering governance, risk management, incident reporting, and cyber hygiene, and intends to develop a draft guideline for consultation with its regulated institutions in the first quarter of 2023. Supervisory arrangements for Information and Communication Technology/cyber risks need further improvements and resource constraints within Financial Institutions Supervision Department need to be addressed urgently. The Identity and Access Management project has been formally set up and is now in Phase 1, which is considered preparatory. The governance of the project, the high-level roadmap, and the deliverables for Phase 1 are generally in line with good practices. It is recommended to establish regular cybersecurity meetings and reporting regime at the Board level with the participation of the Head of IT Security.
Keywords:
cybersecurity governance; Cybersecurity governance assessment; cybersecurity policy; control environment; pension firm; Cyber risk; Pensions; Insurance; Payment systems; Financial sector; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
St. Kitts and Nevis: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
This Selected Issues paper reviews anecdotal evidence on labor market conditions and discusses policy options to strengthen the labor market and support growth in St. Kitts and Nevis. The diagnosis of labor market conditions reveals challenges and opportunities in wages, productivity, and labor allocation across sectors. These include strengthening jobs and growth opportunities across sectors, enhancing the wage setting system to support competitiveness, and increasing the efficiency of the public sector. Strong institutions are needed to effectively manage public sector wages over the medium term. Several institutional arrangements can facilitate this goal including regular comparison between public and private sector wages, regular wage negotiations as opposed to ad hoc adjustments, and using medium-term wage bill forecasting to support better fiscal outcomes. Labor market and growth policies could play a key role in strengthening jobs and growth in the post-coronavirus disease era, including by leveraging sectoral linkages to provide more diversified and higher quality job opportunities, enhancing labor market policies, and increasing the efficiency of the public sector.
Keywords:
C. climate change ADAPTATION; labor market diagnosis; staff team of the International Monetary Fund; D. wage policy; Policy implication; Public sector wages; Labor markets; Wages; Employment; Caribbean; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Finland: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Technical Note on Non-Bank Financial Intermediation and Pension Insurance Companies
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
This technical note evaluates non-bank financial institutions (NBFI) as a sector in Finland, with a special focus on the pension insurance companies (PIC). Pensions, including the PICs and fund managers, are the most significant parts of the NBFI sector, followed by insurance. Market participants value their relationship with the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority, particularly during crisis periods, but noted that extra resources and expertise would be useful for the NBFI sector. The Financial Sector Assessment Program analysis reveals a history of procyclical and herding behavior in the PIC portfolios due to the substance and perception of the solvency regulations, which drive the behavior of market participants. Discussion on further reforms to the 2017 solvency laws should focus on enhancing the long-term purpose of the PICs to generate returns—to the benefit of all social partners and Finnish citizens. Even though liquidity risks are low, a liquidity regulation should be developed so that PICs have sufficient buffers for extreme events.
Keywords:
PIC equity investment; PIC asset allocation; Pension insurance company; pension insurance company Market; FSAP's finding; finance disclosure Regulation; investment allocation; Pension spending; Solvency; Pensions; Insurance companies; Insurance; Global; Europe
Cover IMF Working Papers
Intergenerational Transmission of Education in a Developing Country: Evidence from A Mass Education Program in Vietnam
Trung Hoang
and
Ha Nguyen
We study the long-run and multi-generational effects of a mass education program in Vietnam during the First Indochina War (1946-1954). Difference-in-difference estimations indicate that the children of mothers exposed to the education program had an average of 0.9 more years of education. We argue that the impact is via mother’s education. An additional year of maternal education increases children’s education by up to 0.65 years, a stronger effect than those found in the existing literature. Better household lifestyles and a stronger focus on education are possible transmission pathways.
Keywords:
mass education; human capital transmission; mother education; Vietnam; education program; ha Nguyen; household lifestyle; intergenerational transmission; Labor markets; Income; Women; Insurance; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
U.S. Healthcare: A Story of Rising Market Power, Barriers to Entry, and Supply Constraints
Ms. Li Lin
and
Mr. Mico Mrkaic
Healthcare in the United States is the most expensive in the world, with real per capita spending growth averaging 4 percent since 1980. This paper examines the role of market power of U.S. healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies. It finds that markups (the ability to charge prices above marginal costs) for publicly listed firms in the U.S. healthcare sector have almost doubled since the early 1980s and that they explain up to a quarter of average annual real per capita healthcare spending growth. The paper also finds evidence that the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion were successful in raising coverage and expanding care, but may have had the undesirable side-effect of leading to labor cost increases: Hourly wages for healthcare practitioners are estimated to have increased by 2 to 3 percent more in Medicaid expansion states over a five-year period, which could be an indication that the supply of medical services is relatively inelastic, even over a long time horizon, to the boost to demand created by the Medicaid expansion. These findings suggest that promoting more competition in healthcare markets and reducing barriers to entry can help contain healthcare costs.
Keywords:
Medicaid expansion; sector markup; healthcare cost; healthcare in the United States; healthcare provider; Wages; Employment; Insurance companies; Insurance; Labor costs; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Unintended Effects From the Expansion of the Non-Contributory Health System in Peru
Mr. Jose L. Torres
Over the last two decades, the Peruvian government has made great efforts to improve access to health care by significantly augmenting the coverage of the non-contributory public health care system Seguro Integral de Salud (SIS). This expansion has a positive impact on welfare and public health indicators, as it limits the risk of catastrophic health-related costs for previously uninsured individuals and allows for the appropriate treatment of illnesses. However, it also entails some unintended consequences for informality, tax revenues, and GDP, since a few formal agents are paying for a service that the majority of (informal) agents receive for free. In this paper, we use a general equilibrium model calibrated for Peru to simulate the expansion of SIS to quantify the unintended effects. We find that overall welfare increases, but informality rises by 2.7 percent, while tax revenues and output decrease by roughly 0.1 percent. Given the extent of the expansion in eligibility, the economic relevance of these results seems negligible. However, this occurs because the expansion of coverage was mostly funded by reducing the spending per-insured person. In fact, we find larger costs if public spending is increased to improve the quality of service given universal coverage.
Keywords:
care system Seguro Integral de Salud; IMF working paper Western Hemisphere department; unintended effect; health shock; health risk; avg. health spending; non-contributory health system SIS; Self-employment; Health care; Health care spending; Insurance; South America; Caribbean
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
India: Financial Sector Assessment Program: Insurance Sector Regulation and Supervision-Technical Note
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
This Technical Note provides an assessment of the recent development of regulation and supervision of the Indian insurance sector. The sector has continued to grow in scale and diversity, surmounting the adverse impact of the global financial crisis, although penetration remains relatively low. Public sector insurers continue to command a majority of the market and life insurance predominates, with about 75 percent of total premiums. Non-life insurance is dominated by motor insurance. Penetration rates are unchanged from 2011 and generally lower than in comparator countries, especially in non-life. Although traditional sale channels continue to predominate, there is increasing diversity in distribution. Risks in life insurance are relatively well spread and in non-life are mainly short-term.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; insurance sector; motor insurance market; IRDAI regulation; public sector insurer; sector governance; risk assessment; life insurer; problem insurer; IRDAI representative; insurance liability; Insurance companies; Insurance; Solvency; Financial Sector Assessment Program; Asia and Pacific; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Kingdom of the Netherlands-Netherlands: Financial Sector Assessment Program:: Technical Note-Insurance and Pension Sectors
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
This Technical Note discusses the findings and recommendations in the Financial Sector Assessment Program for the Netherlands on the insurance and pension sectors. The governance, accountability, and internal processes of the supervisors, operating under a well-functioning twin-peaks model, are robust. With two-tier boards that include independent members, and an internal audit department, the governance structure of both supervisors is vigorous. Detailed documentation supports the internal processes. Discussions are underway to determine a new structure for the pension system, which may include shifting risks to the participants.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; holding company; coverage ratio; interest rate; occupational pension; fixed income; Solvency II; risk assessment; financial product; Pension spending; Insurance companies; Solvency; Insurance; Pensions; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Slovak Republic: 2015 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Slovak Republic
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This 2015 Article IV Consultation highlights that Slovakia remains among Europe’s stronger economies, with growth continuing to pick up in 2015, driven by strong domestic demand. A push to spend expiring European Union funds has underpinned rising investment while job creation and real wage growth have supported private consumption. Unemployment has fallen significantly since 2013, but is still about 11 percent overall, and is much higher for the long-term unemployed, youth, and women. The outlook is favorable with growth of 3–3.5 percent expected through the medium-term, reflecting sustained domestic demand as well as further contributions from the important export sector as substantial additional foreign auto sector investment is planned.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; energy company Enel; energy company; ente nazionale per l'energia elettrica; student housing cost; carmaker Jaguar Land Rover; energy company EPH; staff appraisal; Labor markets; Unemployment; Loans; Europe; Global