Insurer capital, technology choices, and performance during a trade war.

This paper develops a duopolistic contingent claim model to evaluate the equity values of life insurers during a trade war. Choosing advanced (technology-oriented) relative to backward (human capital-oriented) technology is crucial for insurance management. A result shows that holding more capital would enhance insurer survival. The enhancement becomes more significant when the trade war becomes more severe and when the technology chosen by the insurers is more backward. Capital, as such, contributes to insurance stability but discourages advanced technology development for insurers during the trade war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]