We examine the flood insurance decisions of over 100,000 households, using standard expected utility models and rank dependent utility models that incorporate probability distortions. Consumers' insurance choices provide important insights into their risk attitudes. Previous research has...

We examine businesses' financial management of a rare, severe event using detailed firm-level data collected following Hurricane Sandy in the New York area. Credit played a prominent role in financing recovery; more negatively affected firms took on debt because of Sandy (38%) than received...

Using a unique dataset of insurance decisions by over 1,800 large U.S. corporations, this study provides the first empirical analysis of firm behavior that compares corporate demand for property and catastrophe insurance (here, terrorism). We combine demand and supply data and apply a...

Books reviewed: Philip B. Heymann, Terrorism and America: A Commonsense Strategy for a Democratic Society Christopher C. Harmon, Terrorism Today Stellios H. Zanakis, Georgios I. Doukidis and Constantin Zopounidis (Eds), Decision Making: Recent Developments and Worldwide Applications Ted...

Economic and insured losses from natural catastrophes have increased significantly in recent years and are challenging the way catastrophe risk insurance markets operate today. This chapter focuses on how insurance in combination with other policy tools can reduce losses from natural disasters...

The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA) established a public-private program to cover commercial enterprises against foreign terrorism on US soil. It was a temporary measure to increase the availability of risk coverage for terrorist acts by requiring insurers to provide coverage....

On February 27, 2010, Chile was rocked by a violent earthquake five hundred times more powerful than the one that hit Haiti just six weeks prior. The Chilean earthquake devastated schools, hospitals, roads, and homes, paralyzing the country for weeks and causing economic damage that was equal to...

This paper focuses on how developing countries can change the way they prepare for disasters so they are better equipped to sustain economic growth. It discusses the importance of considering the goals of key decision makers and the need to understand the perceptions, systematics biases, and...