Operating Expenses for Agency and Nonagency Life Insurers: Further Evidence
使用多元回归和最大似然估计，比较代理型与非代理型人寿保险公司的费用比率，发现非代理公司可能具有更显著的规模经济效应，但因样本量小需谨慎解读。
This study attempts to extend the work of Pritchett and Brewster [27] by employing multiple regression analysis to compare A/S expense ratios for the agency and nonagency life insurers in their sample. Maximum likelihood (ML) estimation is used to estimate a model of A/S expense ratios that allows for the possibility that economies of scale may be more (or less) pronounced for nonagency insurers than for agency insurers. The methodology also allows for the possibility that the standard deviations of the disturbances may be (1) negatively related to insurer size and (2) greater for nonagency insurers than for agency insurers of equal size. Monte Carlo simulation is employed to analyze the properties of the ML estimator in view of the fact that the nonagency group includes only nine insurers. The results suggest that economies of scale may be more pronounced for the nonagency insurers than for the agency insurers in the sample. While this finding must only be considered suggestive because of the small size of the nonagency sample, the methodology employed in this study may prove useful for future research in this area. A reduction in insurer operating expenses that is not offset by a reduction in benefits or services desired by the buyer will increase consumer welfare if the expense savings are reflected in policy premiums or dividends. Because distribution costs generally account for a substantial proportion of an insurer's total operating expenses, comparisons of operating expense levels among insurers that utilize alternative distribution systems are important. Such analyses also may provide information useful to insurer managements and to persons responsible for the regulation of insurance marketing. Given the importance of the subject, it is not surprising that many studies compare operating expense levels among insurers that utilize alternative distribution systems [e.g., 4, 7, 19, 27]. With respect to life insurance distribution systems, many persons contend that agency insurers (those which primarily depend on commissioncompensated agents to market their products) generally can be expected to have higher operating expenses than nonagency insurers (those which do not depend primarily on commission-compensated agents to market their prod