Enterprise risk management (ERM) has been the topic of increased media attention in recent years. Many organizations have implemented ERM programs, consulting firms have established specialized ERM units, and universities have developed ERM-related courses and research centers. Despite the...

Previous research has examined the demand for life insurance policy loans using aggregate policy loan data. In contrast, we use a detailed household survey dataset containing life insurance and policy loan information to alternatively, and in some cases more directly, examine the four hypotheses...

Adverse selection plays a prominent role in the insurance literature due to its negative implications for insurer financial performance and stability. However, there is a paucity of empirical evidence consistent with the existence of adverse selection in the U.S. insurance market. Potential...

Prior studies have considered a variety of factors that may account for the variation in wealth across U.S. households. This study adds to existing literature in this area by more closely analyzing a subset of households - those considered low savers. More specifically, we empirically determine...

The effect of federal insurance regulation has been a perennial topic of debate. Proponents have argued that federal regulation would result in a variety of benefits including greater product innovation, increased speed-to-market, reduction of regulatory costs, and additional cost efficiencies....

Investors may under-diversify their portfolios by overweighting securities in which they perceive an informational advantage or by underweighting securities to hedge risks outside the portfolio. We investigate under-diversification in institutional portfolio construction by examining the...

Our study examines two aspects of life insurers' exposure to the troubled residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) market. First, we develop and estimate a model that explains cross-sectional variation in RMBS exposure in terms of firm characteristics. We find that firms least likely to...

The catastrophic losses from the combined 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons resulted in significant price increases and mass non-renewals in the residential property insurance market in Florida. The public outcry to these insurer decisions yielded a highly salient insurance pricing environment. On...

We examine the effect of AIG's bailout, and the events leading up to it, on its insurance industry rivals. The reaction of rivals to AIG-related events depends on the relative strength of two competing effects. The contagion effect implies that rival returns will decrease following negative...

Our study examines two aspects of life insurers’ exposure to the troubled residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) market. First, we develop and estimate a model that explains cross-sectional variation in RMBS exposure in terms of firm characteristics. We find that firms least likely to...