A comparison of bancassurance and traditional insurer sales channels

Abstract

Although various sales channels exist for insurance products, no existing research compares their sales efficiency. This study offers a comparison of bancassurance and traditional sales channels in Taiwan. Using a data envelopment analysis approach, this study first computes the efficiencies of bancassurance and traditional sales channels separately. The efficiency score of the traditional sales channel is significantly higher than that of a comparable bancassurance channel. Furthermore, the efficiency relationship between the bancassurance and the traditional sales channels is independent. These findings have significant implications for the insurance industry and ongoing research in this field. © 2011 The International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics.