An Empirical Analysis about Board Independence and Financial Performance of Insurance Companies —Based on American Insurance Market

Abstract

The board independence is a key condition for the board to give full play to governance functions, but the studies on the influence of board independence to corporate governance of insurance companies are rare. Based on the availability and completeness of data, this paper uses the relevant data of US listed insurers from 2009 to 2015, and uses the methods of correlation analysis and regression analysis to study the relationship between board independence and financial performance. This paper draws the following conclusions: the proportion of independent directors in US listed life insurers is significantly negatively correlated with financial performance, while non-life insurers show no significant positive correlation; whether in life insurance companies or non-life insurance companies, the leadership structure and financial performance are not significant positive correlation.