Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.2478/zireb-2021-0004

Has Accession to The European Union Affected the Efficiency of Croatian Insurance Companies?

Maja Pervan ; University of Split, Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism
Marijana Ćurak orcid.org/0000-0003-3427-7051 ; University of Split, Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism
Tomislava Pavić Kramarić orcid.org/0000-0002-0974-4423 ; University of Split, University Department of Forensic Sciences

Abstract

Accession of Croatia to the EU brought legal, regulatory and market changes for the insurance companies. The question that arises is whether the new environment in which the companies operate has improved their efficiency. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to separately estimate the efficiency of non-life and life insurance industry in Croatia and to compare it through the period before (2009-2012) and after (2013-2018) Croatian accession to the EU. The research is based on the Data Envelopment Analysis and the obtained results indicate an average increase in overall technical efficiency in both, non-life and life sector in period after Croatia’s accession to the EU. Still, this increase was not proved to be significant. Additionally, although increase in pure technical efficiency was significant in non-life sector, an insignificant slight decrease is recorded in life sector. Finally, insurers conducting (non)life business activities are mainly operating at increasing returns to scale.

Keywords

efficiency; Croatian insurance companies; accession to the EU; DEA

Hrčak ID:

257999

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/257999

Publication date:

31.5.2021.

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