The Impact of Product Diversification and Insurance Activity to Insurance Industry Performance: Moderating Effect of Insurance Penetration: Evidence from India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka

Abstract

Purpose: The research focused on the insurance industry performance of India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka were supposed to find the impact of product diversification and Insurance activity towards industry performance measured by ROE. Further insurance penetration is considered a moderating variable and objectives same as mentioned above. Product diversification and Insurance activity are key indicators of the insurance industry and insurance penetration is a key indicator of country performance measurement. Methodology: This quantitative study considered countries of Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan in the South Asian Region and considered the period data from 2012 -2022. The highest developed first three countries were considered for evaluation purposes and diversified (companies operating in both Life & General) insurance companies from each country. Findings: Both product diversification and insurance activity exhibit negative correlations with insurance industry performance, indicating that increasing either factor may result in lower financial performance for insurers in these countries. Furthermore, insurance penetration significantly moderates the relationship between product diversification and insurance industry performance. The three hypotheses formulated and stated that impact is negative for product diversification and insurance activity. Further stated that insurance penetration moderated the insurance industry's performance. Conclusion: The findings underscore the importance of prudent strategic planning and management for diversified insurance companies in India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka. Diversified insurance firms are advised to carefully weigh the trade-offs between diversification and profitability. While diversification can mitigate risk, it may also lead to diminishing the returns in long run.