Digital technology is costly, but it allows insurers to more quickly learn about the risk type of their policyholders. We study the implications of this speed-versus-cost tradeoff for equilibrium pricing and coverage decisions in an insurance market featuring adverse selection. In particular, we develop a theoretical model of dynamic competitive equilibrium featuring individuals who differ in t...

The majority of states have implemented separate SCHIP (S-SCHIP) programs that significantly depart from Medicaid and resemble less comprehensive commercial products. This difference in program design may result in S-SCHIP potentially being less responsive to children with special needs (CSHCNs). This study explores how responsive insurers are to these higher than average needs. We found that, ...

For the past three years, the Affordable Care Act has required health insurers to pay out a minimum percentage of premiums in medical claims or quality improvement expenses--known as a medical loss ratio (MLR). Insurers with MLRs below the minimum must rebate the difference to consumers. This issue brief finds that total rebates for 2013 were $325 million, less than one-third the amount paid ou...

The Affordable Care Act requires health insurers to justify rate increases that are 10 percent or more for nongrandfathered plans in the individual and small-group markets. Analyzing these filings for renewals taking effect from mid-2013 through mid-2014, this brief finds that the average rate increase submitted for review was 13 percent. Insurers attributed the great bulk of these larger rate ...

Purchasing reinsurance reduces insurers’ insolvency risk by stabilising loss experience, increasing capacity, limiting liability on specific risks and/or protecting against catastrophes. Consequently, purchasing should reduce capital costs. However, transferring to reinsurers is expensive. The cost of for an insurer can be much larger than the actuarial price transferred. In this article, we an...

This paper explores the goals and implementation of reforms introducing choice of and competition among insurers providing statutory health coverage in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. In theory, health insurance competition can enhance efficiency in health care administration and delivery only if people have free choice of insurer (consumer mobility), if insurers do not have ...

The purpose of this paper is to assess whether loss reserving adjustment exists in the UK general insurance industry and, if so, what motivates managers to modify reserves. Our research shows that: insurers bias loss reserve accrual to smooth income or to avoid triggering regulatory intervention; insurers underestimate loss reserves to avoid reporting small losses; insurers’ current and expecte...

Since 1995 Australian health insurers have been able to purchase health services pro-actively through negotiating contracts with hospitals, but little is known about their experience of purchasing. This paper examines the current status of purchasing through interviews with senior managers representing all Australian private health insurers. Many of the traditional tools used to generate compet...

Introduction. In the conditions of strengthening insurance role in a modern society there is growing necessity realization balanced state policy field tax regulation market for maintenance and stimulation its development. One main tasks to form optimal level burden on Ukrainian insurers that will help achieve balance interests all participants relations. The purpose article analyze volume struc...