Browsing by Subject "Insurance"
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- ItemOpen AccessCorporate governance and financial performance of long-term insurance companies in South Africa(2019) Zyambo, Kalwani; Alhassan, Abdul LatifThe research examines the effect between corporate governance and company-specific variables to financial performance among a sample of long-term insurance companies in South Africa from 2011 to 2016. The study employed a panel regression technique using board size, board independence, audit committee size and CEO tenure as proxies for corporate governance while controlling for firm size, reinsurance usage and leverage. The proxies used for financial performance were underwriting profits, return on assets (ROA) and returns on equity (ROE). The findings show that board size is the only corporate governance variable that is statistically significant with financial performance in the sample of South African longterm insurance providers. The remaining corporate governance variables did not have a statistically significant relationship with financial performance because each company in the sample set them in line with the recommendations outlined in the King Report IV on Corporate Governance. The implication of the adherence to the recommendations in the King Report IV on Corporate Governance reduced the variation in corporate governance structures between the companies in the sample. The findings also show leverage as the only control variable that is statistically significant with financial performance in the sample. The dissertation recommends that the corporate governance guidelines outlined in the King Report IV on Corporate Governance be made statutory in the South African longterm insurance sector, because these guidelines do not adversely affect the financial performance in a statistically significant way. Further, the dissertation recommends a board size ceiling be set in the sector to address the observed negative and statistically significant relationship between board size and financial performance. Finally, the dissertation recommends the use of regulation to limit the amount of leverage that companies in the sector can take on to address the observed negative and statistically significant relationship between leverage and financial performance.
- ItemOpen AccessA Customary Insurance Law?(Juta, 2017-08-01) Hutchison, AndrewThis article will explore risk spreading practices in the so-called ‘popular economy’ in South Africa. Concepts like ‘insurance’, ‘insurance law’ and ‘customary law’ will be interrogated, with the analysis falling on traditional and more modern informal responses to risk, as well as more formal responses resulting from the increased penetration of private insurance in the democratic era. This contribution aims to address concerns expressed about both informal and formal risk spreading practices, to argue towards a conclusion that a pluralistic notion of ‘insurance’ should not necessarily be sacrificed in service of corporate profit aims. Value remains in ‘customary insurance law’, and these cultural responses may provide evidence of a broader contract value system to be used in the service of developing the South African laws of contract and insurance. At very least, this value system should inform concepts like consumer insurance law and should be foregrounded in developing a notion of micro-insurance. South Africa has the potential to be a world leader in the field of customary insurance law, as the failings of a comparable system – funeral insurance in Australia – demonstrate.
- ItemMetadata onlyFinancial instruments of the poor: Initial findings from the Financial Diaries Study(CSSR and SALDRU, 2015-05-28) Collins, Daryl
- ItemMetadata onlyManaging risk with insurance and savings: Experimental evidence for male and female farm managers in the Sahel(2015-05-28) Delavallade, Clara; Dizon, Felipe; Hill, Ruth; Petraud, Jean Paul
- ItemOpen AccessMisrepresentation in consumer insurance: the United Kingdom legislature opts for a ‘reasonable consumer’ standard’(Juta, 2013-12-01) Hutchison, Andrew; Stoop, HelenaIn 2012 the UK Legislature passed a new consumer insurance Act, which deals with certain areas of insurance law which have traditionally proved troubling for consumers. This note aims to draw South African attention to the provisions of this statute, and discusses in particular: (i) the treatment of misrepresentations made by consumers in disclosure forms; as well as (ii) its provisions on the issue of constructive knowledge of insurance companies of information disclosed by consumers to insurance intermediaries. There is a detailed case history on both these issues in both the UK and in South Africa, which is used to contextualise the debate. In particular, the materiality standard of the risk awareness of a ‘reasonable consumer’ has been chosen by the UK Act, which is more permissive than South Africa’s ‘reasonable person’ standard.
- ItemOpen AccessPotential strategies for sustainably financing mental health care in Uganda(BioMed Central, 2018-12-05) Ssebunnya, J.; Kangere, S.; Mugisha, J.; Docrat, S.; Chisholm, D.; Lund, C.; Kigozi, F.Abstract Background In spite of the pronounced adverse economic consequences of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders on households in most low- and middle-income countries, service coverage and financial protection for these families is very limited. The aim of this study was to generate potential strategies for sustainably financing mental health care in Uganda in an effort to move towards increased financial protection and service coverage for these families. Methods The process of identifying potential strategies for sustainably financing mental health care in Uganda was guided by an analytical framework developed by the Emerging Mental health systems in low and middle income countries (EMERALD project). Data were collected through a situational analysis (public health burden assessment, health system assessment, macro fiscal assessment) and eight key informant interviews with selected stakeholders from sectors including health, finance and civil society. The situational analysis provided contextualization for the strategies, and was complimented by views from key informant interviews. Results Findings indicate that the following strategies have the greatest potential for moving towards more equitable and sustainable mental health financing in the Uganda context: implementing National Health Insurance Scheme; shifting to Results Based Financing; decentralizing mental health services that can be provided at community level; and continued advocacy with decision makers with evidence through research. Conclusion Although several options were identified for sustainably financing mental health care in Uganda, the National Health Insurance Scheme seemed the most viable option. However, for the scheme to be effective, there is need for scale up to community health facilities and implementation in a manner that explicitly includes community level facilities.
- ItemMetadata onlySavings, Insurance and Debt over the Post-Apartheid Period: A Review of Recent Research(CSSR and SALDRU, 2015-05-28) Ardington, Cally; Lam, David; Leibbrandt, Murray; Levinsohn, James