再保險使用與資本結構：以台灣產險業為例

Non-Life Insurers’ Reinsurance Use and Capital Structure: Evidence from Taiwan

本文利用台灣產物保險公司之1997 至2010 年的資料，探討再保險使用與資本結構之間的雙向關係。我們發現：再保險分出比例愈高的保險公司，其財務槓桿也會較高，此一結果支持租用資本假設。然而，我們卻發現：財務槓桿較高的公司，使用較少的再保險。我們推論此結果，可能係因為風險基礎資本制的實施、政府政策上的鼓勵及業者因應調整商品組合所導致。我們也進一步利用風險基礎資本制實施前後之資料，來檢證研究推論的穩健性，其結果支持本文的論述。

Using data on non-life insurers from 1997 through 2010, we examine the two-way relation between reinsurance use and capital structure. Consistent with prior research, we find that insurers with higher reinsurance dependence tend to have a higher level of debt. This result is consistent with the renting capital hypothesis. However, the reverse is not true. We find that insurers with higher leverage tend to use less reinsurance, which we partly attribute to the implementation of risk-based capital system, regulatory policies and industry practice that exists in Taiwan. We also conduct an analysis to examine the robustness of our results.