This article deals with the role of insurance for damages from catastrophic events. Prior to the attack of September 11, 2001, insurers typically provided coverage for losses from terrorism and those from almost all other causes. These causes were thought by the industry to be of sufficiently low probability and were not a reason for making changes in premiums, underwriting, or reserves. In tim...

BACKGROUND Managed competition was introduced into the health care system in several countries including the Netherlands, although effects of competition of both providers and health insurers on the price of health care are inconclusive. We investigated the association between competition of both providers (care groups) and health insurers and the price of disease management programmes (DMPs). ...

BACKGROUND Motor third party insurance was established in Uganda in 1989 as a social policy to protect motorists and other road users (third parties) in the event of an accident. However, reports show that only a few motorists filed claims to their insurers for compensation despite being involved in road traffic accidents. OBJECTIVE To establish whether motorists' awareness has an influence o...

We develop a model where a free genetic test reveals whether the individual tested has a low or high probability of developing a disease. A costly prevention e¤ort allows high-risk agents to decrease the probability of developing the disease. Agents are not obliged to take the test, but must disclose its results to insurers. Insurers o¤er separating contracts which take into account the individ...

The Korean insurance industry is pursuing liberalization, breaking away from the former protective measures against foreign competition. Especially in the reinsurance market, which has been more international in nature, gradual liberalization has already been progressed since 1984. The restriction on the level of retention limit per risk and the requirement that Korean direct insurers must cede...

In 2006 a major healthcare reform was introduced in the Netherlands, implying managed competition. This study explored level of consensus on outcomes and desired changes this new system, differences between stakeholder groups. A three-round Delphi-study conducted among Dutch insurers, health economists, professionals general practice (GP) care mental (MH) care. first round, 20 experts indicated...

At ASDEX Upgrade (AUG), a new compact solid-state detector has been installed to measure the energy spectrum of fast neutrals based on the principle described by Shinohara et al. [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 75, 3640 (2004)]. The diagnostic relies on the usual charge exchange of supra-thermal fast-ions with neutrals in the plasma. Therefore, the measured energy spectra directly correspond to those of co...

We propose a generic and computationally efficient framework within which input XML data can be transformed depending on environment descriptions (e.g., terminal capabilities) and rule descriptions (e.g., access policies). We adopt a hybrid approach; the transformation engine consists of XSLT and DOM processors. The input XML data is transformed by an XSLT instance that is adapted by a DOM prog...

Introduction of LTE (Long Term Evolution) brings enhanced quality for 3GPP multimedia services. The high throughput and low latency of LTE enable higher quality media coding than what is possible in UMTS. LTE-specific codecs have not yet been defined but work on them is ongoing in 3GPP. The LTE codecs are expected to improve the basic signal quality, but also to offer new capabilities such as e...

OBJECTIVE To provide state-level estimates of the size and structure of the US individual market for health insurance and to investigate the potential impact of new medical loss ratio (MLR) regulation in 2011, as indicated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). STUDY DESIGN Using data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, we provided state-level estimat...