過去許多研究顯示，舉債程度高的公司，較傾向於使用衍生性金融商品和再保
險，以降低產生財務危機的風險。本研究以保險公司的投資風險和核保風險做
為干擾變數，探討舉債程度對於風險管理工具(衍生性金融商品及再保險)之使
用的正向關係，是否會隨著投資風險和核保風險的提升而增強。本文考慮兩個
相互關係 (1)衍生性金融商品的使用與舉債程度(2)再保險與舉債程度之間的
相互關係。本研究以1985 至2008 年，英國壽險公司的非平衡縱橫資料
(unbalanced panel data)作為研究樣本，以二階段最小平方法估計迴歸式。

研究結果顯示，舉債程度可促使公司更傾向於使用衍生性金融商品避險，但衍
生性金融商品的使用，並未促使公司增加舉債程度。關於再保險和舉債程度之
間的相互關係方面，結果顯示這兩個變數對彼此無顯著影響。在交互項方面，
舉債和投資風險的交互項，對於衍生性金融商品的使用有正向影響，顯示舉債
程度對於衍生性金融商品之使用的正向關係，是隨著投資風險的提升而增強。
然而舉債和核保風險的交互項對於再保險使用的影響並不顯著。這些結果可能
顯示，投資風險的提升，會使保險公司在風險管理方面更趨於積極。較高的投
資風險，將使保險公司更加注意自身的整體風險。

Many previous studies provide the evidence that firms with higher leverage tend to use derivatives and reinsurance to reduce the risk of financial distress. In our study, we use investing and underwriting risk as moderators to test whether the positive effect of leverage on the use of derivatives and reinsurance will be stronger with higher investing and underwriting risk. We consider the two interrelations: (1) the interrelation between derivatives use and leverage (2) the interrelation between reinsurance and leverage. In this study, we employ 2SLS method to estimate each equation and use unbalanced panel data on UK life insurance companies over the period 1985 to 2008.

Our empirical results show that leverage can induce insurers to use derivatives. But the use of derivatives does not lead to higher leverage. For the interrelationship
between reinsurance and leverage, these two variables are not significantly related to each other. For the two interaction terms, our results show that the interaction of
investing risk and leverage positively affect the decision to use derivatives. The effect of leverage on the use of derivatives is stronger with higher investing risk. However, the interaction of underwriting risk and leverage is not positively to reinsurance. These results may imply that insurers tend to be more active in risk management when the risk from investing activities increases. Higher investing risk makes insurers more aware of their overall risk.

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