Abstract
There has been substantial interest in the question of how (and whether) to allow for investment income in setting rates for property-liability insurers. In a sense this interest is premature, since the fair (i.e., competitive) total profit for an insurance firm has not been defined except by unsupported rules of thumb. This article uses the capital asset pricing model to determine the competitive insurance premium and profit rate. Fair profit rates for real lines of insurance are then calculated and compared with actual profit rates. The comparison suggests that rule-of-thumb profit rates used in regulation are above the level that would occur in a competitive insurance market.
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References
1975THE VALUATION OF RISK ASSETS AND THE SELECTION OF RISKY INVESTMENTS IN STOCK PORTFOLIOS AND CAPITAL BUDGETS**This paper is another in a series of interrelated theoretical and statistical studies of corporate financial and investment policies being made under grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, and more recently the Ford Foundation, to the Harvard Business School. The generous support for this work is most gratefully acknowledged. The author is also much indebted to his colleagues Professors Bishop, Christenson, Kahr, Raiffa, and (especially) Schlaifer, for extensive discussion and commentary on an earlier draft of this paper; but responsibility for any errors or imperfections remains strictly his own.[Professor Sharpe's paper, “Capital Asset Prices: A Theory of Market Equilibrium Under Conditions of Risk” (Journal of Finance, September 1964) appeared after this paper was in final form and on its way to the printers. My first section, which parallels the first half of his paper (with corresponding conclusions), sets the algebraic framework for sections II, III and VI, (which have no counterpart in his paper) and for section IV on the equilibrium prices of risk assets, concerning which our results differ significantly for reasons which will be explored elsewhere. Sharpe does not take up the capital budgeting problem developed in section V below.]1966Equilibrium in a Capital Asset Market1992Cartels, competition and regulation in the property-liability insurance industry1976Stocks, Bonds, Bills, and Inflation: Year-by-Year Historical Returns (1926-1974)