The Fragility of Market Risk Insurance
47 Pages Posted: 8 Jan 2018
There are 3 versions of this paper
The Fragility of Market Risk Insurance
The Fragility of Market Risk Insurance
Date Written: January 2018
Abstract
Insurers sell retail financial products called variable annuities that package mu- tual funds with minimum return guarantees over long horizons. Variable annuities accounted for $1.5 trillion or 34 percent of U.S. life insurer liabilities in 2015. Sales fell and fees increased after the 2008 financial crisis as the higher valuation of existing liabilities stressed risk-based capital. Insurers also made guarantees less generous or stopped offering guarantees entirely to reduce risk exposure. We develop an equilib- rium model of insurance markets in which financial frictions and market power are important determinants of pricing, contract characteristics, and the degree of market incompleteness.
JEL Classification: G22, G32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation