Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Com.)--University of Canterbury, 2009. / Typescript (photocopy). "March 2009." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-82). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1960. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Bibliography, leaves 374-378.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1941. / Typescript. Includes abstract and vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 323-331).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-99).

No description available.

Insurance fraud is perhaps one of the most pressing problems challenging the insurance industry. The judiciary plays a significant role in tackling insurance fraud: the burden is on their shoulders to identify the appropriate legal rules governing fraudulent claims and determining the consequences of fraud. However, regrettably, this process has long remained elusive and in the recent decades the courts have tried but failed to formulate clear principles for the treatment of insurance fraud, so the process is, still, continuing. This judicial process is not free from difficulty particularly with regard to the consequence of presenting fraudulent claims. The failure of judicial attempt to formulate clear principles in this jurisdiction has attracted the attention of the Law Commissions which intend to pursue a reform at the legislative level. At the current stage, the law seems to stand at a turning point and try to adapt itself to the new situation. The author is of the opinion that this is the right time to provide a full-scale research in the jurisdiction of insurance fraudulent claims for the purpose of identifying the existing difficulties and confusions, shaping the appropriate legal regime and contributing to the evolving reform process of English insurance contract law. The author is also of the opinion that considering the viability of reform proposals from a novel perspective, namely economics and law, might add a very interesting dimension to the debate. It is believed that the law and economics debate would be helpful in explaining the outcomes of certain legal solutions and identifying the most appropriate legal remedy. Finally, the author also intends to examine to what extent the Law Commissions' proposal could be defended in the light of author's legal and economic analysis.

The dissertation consists of two essays on insurance markets and regulation. The first essay studies the timing of state-level tort reform enactments between 1971 and 2005. Using discrete time hazard models, we find the level of litigation activity---as measured by incurred liability insurance losses, the number of lawyers, and tort cases commenced---to be the most important and robust determinant of tort reform adoption. Political-institutional factors and regional effects---such as Republican control of the state government, single party control of the legislature and governorship, and a (relatively) conservative political ideology among a state’s Democrats---are also associated with quicker reform adoption. In the second essay, we identify the effect of public guarantees on market discipline by exploiting the rich variation in U.S. state guarantees of property-liability insurer obligations. We find government guarantees significantly reduce the sensitivity of premium growth to changes in financial strength ratings, and that this reduced sensitivity applies to both price and volume changes. The effects are concentrated among insurers rated A- or lower by A.M. Best, the leading financial strength rating agency in the insurance industry. For downgraded insurers, we find that premium growth in business not covered by state guarantees falls in relation to growth in its covered business, with the estimate of the difference being as high as 15% for A- rated insurers and 10% for insurers rated below A-.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Statistics and Actuarial Science / Master / Master of Philosophy

This paper analyzes the role that demographics, health services utilization, and knowledge play in determining the choice of insurance plan. Using data from a 2014 National Opinion Research Center (NORC) report and by estimating a probit model, I examine the effect of the three variable categories on the probability of selecting a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). While many of the results align with the existing literature, I contribute to prior insurance studies by finding that confusion over health services and plan benefits is the largest driver in HDHP choice, as it increases the probability that an individual enrolls in an HDHP by over 15 percentage points. This result provides evidence to policymakers that insurance education should be more widely available to ensure that individuals are choosing a plan that best fits their needs.