Litigation Patterns in Automobile Bodily Injury Claims 1977-1997: Effects of Time and Tort Reforms

This study uses data from the Insurance Research Council to investigate changes in the use of attorneys and in the filing of legal claims to resolve automobile third-party bodily injury claims between 1977 and 1997. We find results consistent with the general public perception that the use of attorneys and the filing of legal claims have increased over the study period. In addition, we find evidence that tort reforms enacted by the states have slowed the rates of increase in the use of attorneys and in the filing of legal claims to resolve automobile insurance claim disputes. Copyright The Journal of Risk and Insurance, 2008.

The value relevance of realistic reporting: evidence from the UK insurers

Even under the International Financial Reporting Standard 4 (IFRS 4), the current accounting regime for UK life insurance companies is oriented towards delaying the recognition and distribution of profit, and still remains largely rooted in traditional requirements for statutory solvency reporting. This paper tests empirically the value relevance of the alternative ‘realistic reporting regime’ of voluntary embedded value (EV) disclosures that has been generally adopted by leading UK and Continental European insurers. In recent years, EVs have also been used internally (but not disclosed) by many US life insurers. The results found here are consistent with value relevance and some implications for standard-setters are explored