Livförsäkringsbolag
En studie av intressekonflikter mellan aktieägare och försäkringstagare
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the conflict of interest between shareholders, life insurance companies and insurers in stock life insurance companies operated on a mutual basis from an agency-theoretic perspective. Further, this thesis aims to explore from an ownership-theoretical perspective, why this conflict of interest exist. A qualitative research has been performed and the empirical data is foremost based on interviews with persons from the life insurance industry and public prints. The study concludes that the stock life insurance company operated on a mutual basis has two principals whose interests are in conflict. History has shown that stockowners? interests have been prioritized on the expense of the insurers. The separation of control and risk is the main reason to why a conflict of interest occurs. By changing the form of association so that risk and control is gathered the conflict of interests will be reduced. It is preferable to convert a stock life insurance company operated on a mutual basis to a profit-distributing one, since it is a more cost efficient form of association and the cost of decision-making is lower than in mutual life insurance companies.