Understanding Price Competition in German Motor Insurance
Journal
Zeitschrift für die gesamte Versicherungswissenschaft
ISSN
0044-2585
ISSN-Digital
1865-9748
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2008-09-10
Author(s)
Abstract
This paper analyzes price competition in the German motor insurance market since 1994 and looks for evidence to back up a claim frequently found in the trade literature-that there have been two recent price wars in this industry, the first in 1996-1999, the second in 2005-2006. In a first step, we analyze development of the German motor insurance market and compare it to that of other property-liability lines of business. In a second step the applicability of price war definitions found in the marketing literature to the German motor insurance market is checked. In a third step, a comparison to reference cases from other industries, where price wars have been subject to academic analysis, is conducted to complement the analysis. We conclude that, contrary to reports in the trade literature, the periods of 1996-1999 and 2005-2006 should be considered as times of in-tense competition in the motor insurance industry, not as times of price war.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Springer
Publisher place
Berlin - Heidelberg
Volume
97
Number
Supplement 1
Start page
37
End page
50
Pages
14
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
46798