The theoretical literature suggests that taxation can have a large impact on household portfolio selection and allocation. In this paper we analyze the tax treatment of life insurance, considering the cancellation of tax incentives in Italian life insurance contracts for investors with high marginal tax rates and the introduction of incentives for those with low rates. Using repeated cross-sect...

Electronic Markets Electronic Markets Electronic Markets Electronic Markets Electronic Markets and Insurance and Insurance and Insurance and Insurance and Insurance Insurance and other financial services appear to be well suited to being sold electronically. No physical goods are involved , as insurance is in effect a purchase of a promise, in the form of a contract, which can be successfully d...

Consumer groups fear that the use of genetic testing information in insurance underwriting might lead to the creation of an underclass of individuals who cannot obtain insurance; thus, these groups want to ban insurance companies from accessing genetic test results. Insurers contend that such a ban might lead to adverse selection that could threaten their financial solvency. To investigate the ...

This survey reviews significant state and federal court decisions from 2006 and 2007 involving health, life, and disability insurance. Also reviewed is a June 2008 Supreme Court decision in the disability insurance realm, affirming that a conflict of interest exists when an ERISA plan sponsor or insurer fulfills the dual role of determining plan benefits and paying those benefits but noting tha...

This study examines the relation between board characteristics and firm performance among life insurance companies in Thailand. Prior research suggests that boards of directors play a critical role in monitoring non-financial companies in Thailand. However, it is possible that board characteristics are not important in the life insurance industry due to the nature of business and the effect of ...

We analyze how the life settlement market – the secondary market for life insurance – may affect consumer welfare in a dynamic equilibrium model of life insurance with one-sided commitment and overconfident policyholders. As in Daily et al. (2008) and Fang and Kung (2010), policyholders may lapse their life insurance policies when they lose their bequest motives; but in our model the policyhold...

BACKGROUND Proposals to expand Medicare coverage tend to be expensive, but the value of services purchased is not known. This study evaluates the efficiency of the average private supplemental insurance plan for Medicare recipients. METHODS Data from the National Health Interview Survey, the National Death Index, and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey were analyzed to estimate the costs, ch...