Study of the Application of Governance and its Impact on Financial Solvency of Insurance Companies Listed in Palestinian Stock Exchange

This study aims at analyzing and discussing corporate governance of insurance companies in Palestine, through the study of the corporate governance, and its impact on financial solvency of insurance companies. It is an analytical study of the insurance companies Included in the body of the Palestinian Capital Market, which aims at highlighting the status of the insurance sector in terms of its role in the application of the governance system, and its impact on insurance companies Included in the body of the Palestinian Capital Market. It also terms of studying the impact of several criteria; Size of the Council, term length of presidency of the board of Directors, composition of the board, application of disclosure and transparency, and dual role of the chairman of board on financial solvency of insurance companies. The study has used the analytical method through getting to financial statements, and the use of financial analytical tools, in order to know the extent of the reflection of the application of governance criteria's on the overall performance of the companies, and particularly on solvency standards. The study used the financial data from the annual reports of seven Palestinian insurance companies published in the past 5 years. The results of the study were as follows: The size of the board of directors directly affects the solvency of the company, and the more the size of the board of Directors is, with a diversified composition in terms of expertise, the best it is in improving the performance of the company. As for the dual role of the chairman of board, the study found that it has a negative impact on the performance of the company and its financial solvency. Finally both disclosure and transparency had a brief role in outlining, in details, the board's performance, and making it viewable. The study’s recommendations included: Obliging companies to publish many of their financial and non-financial indicators that reflect their performance, with an explanation of what do these indicators represent. The other recommendations are to publish regulators assessment, to determine the length term of the board of Directors, and to compel the boards of it