Testing for Adverse Selection in Insurance Markets

Testing for Adverse Selection in Insurance Markets

Author: Alma Cohen

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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"Abstract: This paper reviews and evaluates the empirical literature on adverse selection in insurance markets. We focus on empirical work that seeks to test the basic coverage--risk prediction of adverse selection theory--that is, that policyholders who purchase more insurance coverage tend to be riskier. The analysis of this body of work, we argue, indicates that whether such a correlation exists varies across insurance markets and pools of insurance policies. We discuss various reasons why a coverage--risk correlation may be found in some pools of insurance policies but not in others. We also review the work on the disentangling of adverse selection and moral hazard and on learning by policyholders and insurers"--John M. Olin Center for Law, Economics, and Business web site.


Moral Hazard in Health Insurance

Moral Hazard in Health Insurance

Author: Amy Finkelstein

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2014-12-02

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 0231538685

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Addressing the challenge of covering heath care expenses—while minimizing economic risks. Moral hazard—the tendency to change behavior when the cost of that behavior will be borne by others—is a particularly tricky question when considering health care. Kenneth J. Arrow’s seminal 1963 paper on this topic (included in this volume) was one of the first to explore the implication of moral hazard for health care, and Amy Finkelstein—recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts on the topic—here examines this issue in the context of contemporary American health care policy. Drawing on research from both the original RAND Health Insurance Experiment and her own research, including a 2008 Health Insurance Experiment in Oregon, Finkelstein presents compelling evidence that health insurance does indeed affect medical spending and encourages policy solutions that acknowledge and account for this. The volume also features commentaries and insights from other renowned economists, including an introduction by Joseph P. Newhouse that provides context for the discussion, a commentary from Jonathan Gruber that considers provider-side moral hazard, and reflections from Joseph E. Stiglitz and Kenneth J. Arrow. “Reads like a fireside chat among a group of distinguished, articulate health economists.” —Choice


Testing Adverse Selection with Two-Dimensional Information

Testing Adverse Selection with Two-Dimensional Information

Author: Peng Shi

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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This article examines adverse selection in insurance markets within a two-dimensional information framework, where policyholders differ in both their riskiness and degree of risk aversion. Using this setup, we first build a theoretical model to make equilibrium predictions on competitive insurance screening. We study several variations on the pattern of information asymmetry. The outcomes range from full risk separation, to partial separation, to complete pooling of different risk types. Next, we examine results of this construction with an empirical investigation using a cross sectional observation from a major automobile insurer in Singapore. To test for evidence of adverse selection, we propose a copula regression model to jointly examine the relationship between policyholders' coverage choice and accident occurrence. The association parameter in copula provides evidence of asymmetric information. Furthermore, we invoke the theory to identify subgroups of policyholders for whom one may expect the risk-coverage correlation and adverse selection to arise. The empirical findings are largely consistent with theoretical predictions.


Loss Coverage

Loss Coverage

Author: Guy Thomas

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017-05-11

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 110710033X

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A novel book that argues that, contrary to received wisdom, some adverse selection in insurance markets is beneficial to society as a whole. It is for all those interested in public policy arguments about insurance and discrimination: policymakers, academics, actuaries, underwriters, disability activists, geneticists and other medical professionals.


Testing for Evidence of Adverse Selection in the Automobile Insurance Market

Testing for Evidence of Adverse Selection in the Automobile Insurance Market

Author: Georges Dionne

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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We analyze jointly the distribution of automobile accidents and the choice of deductible. One prediction in the literature is that high risk individuals will choose small deductibles within risk classes, when there is asymmetrical information. We show, however, that risk classification is sufficient, in the sense that there is no residual adverse selection on risk types in the automobile insurance portfolio studied.


Loss Coverage

Loss Coverage

Author: Guy Thomas

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2017-05-02

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 110815834X

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Most academic and policy commentary represents adverse selection as a severe problem in insurance, which should always be deprecated, avoided or minimised. This book gives a contrary view. It details the exaggeration of adverse selection in insurers' rhetoric and insurance economics, and presents evidence that in many insurance markets, adverse selection is weaker than most commentators suggest. A novel arithmetical argument shows that from a public policy perspective, 'weak' adverse selection can be a good thing. This is because a degree of adverse selection is needed to maximise 'loss coverage', the expected fraction of the population's losses which is compensated by insurance. This book will be valuable for those interested in public policy arguments about insurance and discrimination: academics (in economics, law and social policy), policymakers, actuaries, underwriters, disability activists, geneticists and other medical professionals.


Adverse Selection in Insurance Markets

Adverse Selection in Insurance Markets

Author: Amy Finkelstein

Publisher:

Published: 2004

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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We use a unique data set of annuities in the United Kingdom to test for adverse selection. We find systematic relationships between ex post mortality and annuity characteristics, such as the timing of payments and the possibility of payments to the annuitants' estate. These patterns are consistent with the presence of asymmetric information. However, we find no evidence of substantive mortality differences by annuity size. These results suggest that the absence of selection on one contract dimension does not preclude its presence on others. This highlights the importance of considering detailed features of insurance contracts when testing theoretical models of asymmetric information.


Foundations of Insurance Economics

Foundations of Insurance Economics

Author: Georges Dionne

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 748

ISBN-13: 0792392043

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Economic and financial research on insurance markets has undergone dramatic growth since its infancy in the early 1960s. Our main objective in compiling this volume was to achieve a wider dissemination of key papers in this literature. Their significance is highlighted in the introduction, which surveys major areas in insurance economics. While it was not possible to provide comprehensive coverage of insurance economics in this book, these readings provide an essential foundation to those who desire to conduct research and teach in the field. In particular, we hope that this compilation and our introduction will be useful to graduate students and to researchers in economics, finance, and insurance. Our criteria for selecting articles included significance, representativeness, pedagogical value, and our desire to include theoretical and empirical work. While the focus of the applied papers is on property-liability insurance, they illustrate issues, concepts, and methods that are applicable in many areas of insurance. The S. S. Huebner Foundation for Insurance Education at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School made this book possible by financing publication costs. We are grateful for this assistance and to J. David Cummins, Executive Director of the Foundation, for his efforts and helpful advice on the contents. We also wish to thank all of the authors and editors who provided permission to reprint articles and our respective institutions for technical and financial support.