Systemic risk in the insurance sector

The aim of the paper is to identify the key determinants of the systemic risk of insurance sector and to analyze the potential of insurance sector in the countries of the European Union to create systemic risk. The research time range covers the period of 2005-2012. The main generators of the systemic risk in the insurance sector are: size and non-insurance activity of insurance companies. The level of the systemic risk in the European insurance sector has been growing, because: (1) the importance of investment activities of insurance companies increases (there was a significant growth of the investment portfolio value with a simultaneous decrease in written premium growth, (2) in the life insurance sector, which plays an important role in investment activity facilities, there was a significant increase in the concentration of market operators in countries with a mature, highly developed market, i.e.: Austria, Ireland and United Kingdom.