Financial performance of Non-Life insurance companies in the Algerian insurance Market

Abstract

Business performance has attracted researchers' attention in the literature of corporate finance over the past decades. However, in the context of the insurance sector, it has been given very little attention. There are many factors to consider when looking at insurance companies. More than anything else, consumers and investors should be concerned with the financial strength of the insurer and its ability to meet its ongoing obligations to holders of insurance policies. The insurance sector is one of the fundamental elements in the financing of the Algerian economy and contributes to the effort of the State to support the development of the country. In this study, we will examine the impact of firm specific variables (Company size, leverage, liquidity, solvency, investment.) and some external elements (inflation rate, economic growth) on the financial performance of non-life insurance companies in Algeria in the span of nine years (2010-2018). The analysis of the results is based on a multiple variable regression model. The specific panel data set indicates that the variables: Company size, liquidity ratio and solvency ratio are the most important determinants of financial performance of non-life insurance companies measured by Return On Assets (ROA