The strategic role of reinsurance in the United Kingdom's (UK) non-life insurance market

Using panel data for five main lines of insurance in the United Kingdom's (UK) non-life insurance market we demonstrate that by increasing the level of reinsurance, primary insurers increase their product-market share at the expense of less reinsured rivals. We also observe that the influence of reinsurance and other financial variables on insurers' growth in product-market share differs across lines of insurance business. We conclude that reinsurance performs an important strategic function in insurance markets through its impact on product-market outcomes in competitive insurance markets. Additionally, we find that leverage is the most important factor affecting product-market share at the aggregate business level of the insurance firm.