Insurance markets integration and economic growth in the Visegrad group countries in 1999-2019

Purpose: the aim of the article is to examine the impact of the degree of insurance markets integration on economic growth in the Visegrad Group countries in the years 1999-2019.Design/methodology/approach: the research was divided into two stages.In the first stage the degree of the insurance markets integration of the Visegrad Group countries was assessed.Insurance market integration measures have been established with regard to gross written premium (IIg) and investments (Qg).In the second stage of the research, the impact of the degree of insurance markets integration on economic growth in the Visegrad Group countries was assessed.In order to investigate the impact of the degree of insurance markets integration on economic growth, an econometric model was constructed.The model was built using the backward stepwise regression method and then estimated using the Engle-Granger cointegration test.Findings: the conducted empirical analysis based on statistical and econometric methods allows for the formulation of several important conclusions regarding the insurance markets integration of the Visegrad Group countries.Firstly, the degree of insurance markets integration, measured by integration indicators, is quite high and there is a tendency to its further growth.At second, the impact of the insurance market integration's degree (measured by Qg) on economic growth is rather week.Variable IIg is statistically insignificant.Thus, the conducted research shows that the degree of insurance markets integration, measured by integration indicators, is poorly related to the economic growth in the Visegrad Group countries in the analyzed period.Practical implications: the research results can be used by insurance companies and insurance market institutions to develop their insurance business.Originality/value: the article presents original research findings and fills a research gap on the impact of insurance market integration on economic growth in the Visegrad countries and contributes to the discipline of economics and finance.