Evaluation of factors affecting financial performance of non-life insurance businesses in South Africa

Profitability enhancement through financial analysis remains a crucial tool in accessing the performance of the insurance sector. In the developing countries such as South Africa, there is dearth of information on the impact of explanatory factors on the financial performance of nonlife insurance businesses. This study examined the influence of selected firm-specific, macroeconomic and underwriting profit variables on the financial performance of the South African non-life insurance firms. Here, we considered 36 listed non-life insurers with measurable markets over the period 2008 – 2019. The study employed return on asset (ROA) as a function of financial performance as the dependent variables. While the firm size, leverage ratio, premium growth rate, liquidity ratio and tangibility of assets constituted the investigated firm-specific variables, the macroeconomic (income level, inflation rate, GDP growth rate, market structure and trade openness), and underwriting profit (underwriting profit, total investment, shareholder’s fund and earning asset ratio) were studied as independent variables using panel data regression approach. The regression results revealed that except leverage and liquidity ratios, other firmspecific variables do not have statistically significant effect on the financial performance of south African non-life insurance firms. On the other hand, only GDP rate and shareholder’s fund are the exclusive macroeconomic and underwriting variables, respectively, with statistically significant impact on the financial performance of the non-life insurance firms of South Africa. These results, indeed, gainsay with economic theories. Thus, the leverage and liquidity ratios along with GDP rate and shareholder’s fund can be identified as determinants of the financial performance of the South African nonlife insurance sector. While providing some noteworthy insights on rational decisions regarding selection of non-life insurance firms’ stocks and strategies that would guide their operations, the data presented in this study will also be beneficial to regulatory authorities in formulating sound and effective policies to ensure economic growth and stability of the republic of South Africa.