Factors Affecting Business Performance of Non-life Insurance Companies:Empirical Evidence from Vietnam

Purpose: The paper examines the factors influencing the business performance of non-life insurance companies in Vietnam, through which provides actionable insights and recommendations for regulators and managers to foster sustainable improvements in the performance of Vietnamese non-life insurers. Design/methodology/approach: Utilizing secondary data collected from financial statements and annual reports disclosed by 9 non-life insurers listed in Vietnamese stock exchange quarterly from 2015 to 2025 and macroeconomic data obtained from the World Bank databases, the study adopts a panel regression analysis with yearly fixed effects and error terms clustered on each firm’s cross-sectional dimension to test the proposed hypotheses. The paper also made a robustness test by applying a two-stage least square (2SLS) model with reinsurance as the endogenous variable and financial leverage and liquidity ratio as instrument variables. Findings: The findings indicate that one-quarter lagged performance, cost management efficiency, firm size and firm age have a positive impact on the business performance of non-life insurance companies, while claim ratio has an adverse overall effect. The reinsurance ratio exhibits a nonlinear effect. Although liquidity ratio and leverage ratio do not significantly influence the firm performance, they play as the effective instruments for reinsurance endogenous variable. Research limitations/implications: This paper focuses solely on listed non-life insurers in Vietnam, excluding other sectors such as life insurers, brokers, and reinsurance firms due to data availability. Future research should expand to include diverse industry players over extended periods and across different countries or regions. Originality/value: The paper adopts empirical methodology to identify the main determinants of non-life insurers' performance in Vietnam. The paper provides insights and recommendations for regulators and managers to foster the sustainable improvements in the business performance of Vietnamese non-life insurers.