Drivers of insurance demand in emerging markets

This study focuses on factors driving insurance demand measured as insurance density and growth rate of premiums in emerging markets during the years 1998-2008. Findings indicate that demographic factors explain a greater variance relative to economic and institutional variables for insurance density, while economic factors explain the greatest amount of variance in terms of insurance growth rates. We find that growth rate of the country, GNI per capita, interest rate, merchandise trade, and business freedom influence insurance density. The influence of growth rate of the country was in opposing directions in the case of non-life and life density.