The goal of the rst part of the dissertation is to explore the eects of the competition and mar-
ket structure on the hedging strategies of companies within the property and liability insurance
industry. Based on the available data (1989 to 2009), there is empirical evidence that insurers take
competition and market structure into consideration in implementing their risk management poli-
cies. Market power, market positioning, diversication of lines and states, intensity of competition
and the level of hedging in the industry all aect reinsurance purchase decisions. These results are
robust under various econometric specications.