Board Characteristics and Performance of Insurance Companies in China: An Empirical Analysis

Panel date of China's insurance companies is used, and the ten performance variables are reduced into four comprehensive variables through the method of factor analysis. By using panel data of individual fixed effects regression model, the relationship is tested between board characteristics and operating efficiency, growth ability, stability and profitability performance. The results show that, the board size, the proportion of executive directors is negatively related to the performance, the independence of the board is positively related to the performance. However, the leadership structure, the proportion of female director, professional background and educational background has different effects on different performance respectively. The original discoveries provide empirical evidence to the improvement of insurance company's corporate governance.