Traditional variable annuities build retirement income for annuitants through investments in stocks and bonds. These annuities are variable because their performance depends upon the performance of uncertain financial markets. The risk of poor performance lies solely upon annuitants, rather than...

In this study we compare the interplay between capital and asset risks before and during the 2007-2009 financial crisis for the US life and health insurance industries partitioned into segments by product specialization, size, and governance. The results show substantial intra-industry variation...

As financial intermediaries in the health care delivery system, U.S. health insurers will be strongly affected by sweeping legislative reforms adopted in 2010, both in health care and in financial regulation. In this paper, we provide useful context for interpreting these reforms and for...

This paper explores the relation between capital and risk in the life insurance industry in the period after the adoption of life risk-based capital (RBC) regulation. To examine this issue, we use a simultaneous-equation partial-adjustment model. Three equations express the interrelations among...