Integration of insurance markets – case of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe that are members of the European Union

Abstract

EU directives have freed insurance companies from regulating prices and conditions. However, institutional and cultural features still differ significantly between countries. Issues related to the integration of insurance markets should be considered an important area of research for two reasons. Firstly, because of the importance that the integration of international financial markets has for their development and because of the impact of integration on economic growth. Secondly, the insurance market is fairly specific on account of the complexity of insurance contracts. This makes insurance integration difficult to assess, and for this reason, it is a poorly recognized research topic. This article examines the extent to which the insurance markets of CEE are integrated. The measures of insurance market integration have been determined with regard to gross written premium and investment. The empirical analysis is based on statistical and econometric methods and justifies the conclusion that the extent to which the insurance markets of the countries under investigation are integrated indicates a tendency for this process to continue. However, they are less integrated the rest of the EU countries and the eurozone.

Keywords

• insurance
• insurance market
• integration of insurance markets
• country of european union