INSURER INSOLVENCY RISK: SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17721/1728-2667.2026/229-2/20Keywords:
reinsurance, reserve and capital requirements, risk-management, default, ESGAbstract
Background. In the current environment, insurer insolvency risk is considered a key factor in maintaining the stability of the insurance market and the financial system as a whole. Its growth amid crises, macroeconomic instability, and regulatory changes underscores the need for in-depth research and the search for effective approaches to mitigating it.
Methods. The study is based on a systematic literature review conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 standard. Publications from the Scopus and ScienceDirect databases were selected, based on defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The final sample comprises 54 articles published between 2005 and 2025 that directly address the economic implications of insurer insolvency risk, the factors shaping it, and approaches to its assessment.
Results. The analysis shows that the literature examines insurer insolvency risk through several analytical approaches that focus on different dimensions of the phenomenon, including financial and balance-sheet, risk-sharing (particularly reinsurance), regulatory capital, corporate governance, and systemic approaches. The identified determinants are structured into internal and external factors. At the same time, research evolution has shifted from a narrow regulatory perspective to a more complex view that considers interactions among these factors.
Conclusions. The systematic review indicates that the existing literature lacks a unified framework for analyzing insurer insolvency risk, as studies tend to focus on individual aspects of the phenomenon and its influencing factors. The main contribution of the reviewed research lies in developing different analytical perspectives rather than integrating them. This highlights the need to consider insolvency risk as a complex phenomenon formed by the interaction of multiple factors and to combine different approaches for its comprehensive analysis.
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