This thesis addresses the complex issue of risk classification in the field of insurance. Prior to accepting risks, insurance companies must first be able to evaluate those risks. Accordingly, they seek to collect the most information possible from, amongst other sources, the insured, so as to gage relative risk and evaluate whether to insure or not, to what degree and at what rate. In due course, the insurer will use this information on conjunction with statistical and actuarial calculations to draw hypotheses on the degree, probability and cost of risk. In selecting relevant risks for analysis, insurers will utilise set variables based on the area of insurance in which they operate. However, said variables are highly susceptible to being discriminatory. Notably, one thinks of sex and age which are contentiously considered by practitioners and scholars whether or not they operate in the field of insurance. This dissertation will examine exhaustively the normative framework in place in order to determine to what degree, if indeed at all, insurers can legitimately and legally utilize certain classifications such as age and sex in order to select, categorise and fix the price for the various risks offered to them. / The question shall arise, to what degree less or all-together non-discriminatory criteria should be favoured over criteria, sometimes considered, prohibited. In order to answer all these questions to better address the issue, we must first examine certain essential notions of insurance. Thus, in the first section, we will describe the relevant logistic practices in insurance industries. We shall focus on the decision process at various levels where potential discriminatory practices may arise. We will see that certain schools of thought on insurance classification are at odds, some times diametrically. We will, incidentally, favour the 'fair discrimination' doctrine over its traditional theoretical rival: 'anti-discrimination'. Our research shows that potentially discriminatory classification occurs at several stages of the ex ante and ex post contractual relationship, stages we will examine one at a time. In the second portion we will cover the general juridical regime of the right to non-discrimination in contracts at the international, national and provincial levels. Special attention will be paid to specific rules which allow some limited derogation to the constitutional rights against discrimination. We shall highlight that the legislative authority granted by the Quebec Charter does have limitations. What's more, certain guidelines recently established by the Supreme Court of Canada regarding application, must take precedence over various classification criteria pertaining to insurance which find their root in article 20.1 of the Quebec Charter. Ultimately, we will concentrate on what is just, which is to say the legitimacy of discrimination in a field that takes it for granted while seldomely questioning its foundations. We will come to apply a new measure for insurance discrimination. We will test this new measure in two specific fields: life insurance and automobile insurance. Overall, this thesis will allow us to determine how discriminatory classification can, at times, be legally employed (mostly in pre-selection and segmentation) in the above mentioned fields. We will conclude by proposing a new operating model which seeks to limit classification procedures that circumvent rights to privacy and non-discrimination.

The goal of the project was to use the data in the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) of British Columbia's data warehouse to develop a statistical model that could predict on an ongoing basis those short-term disability (STD) claims that posed a potential high financial risk to the WCB. We were especially interested in identifying factors that could be used to model the transition process of claims from the STD stratum to the vocational rehabilitation (VR) and long term disability (LTD) strata, and forecast their financial impact on the WCB. The reason for this focus is that claims experiencing these transitions represent a much higher financial risk to the WCB than claims that only progress to the health care (HC) and/or the short term disability (STD) strata. The sample used to investigate the conversion processes of claims consists of all STD claims (323,098) that had injury dates between January 1, 1989 and December 31, 1992. Although high-risk claims represent only 4.2 % of all STD claims, they have received 64.3% ($1.2 billion) of the total payments and awards ($1.8 billion) made to July 1999. Low-risk claims make up 95.8% of all the claims but only receive 35.7% ($651 million) of the payments and awards. Moreover, the average cost of high-risk claims ($86,200) is 41 times higher than the average cost of low-risk claims ($2,100). The main objective of the project was to build a reliable statistical model to identify high-risk claims that can be readily implemented at the WCB and thereby improve business decisions. To identify high-risk claims early on, we used logistic regression modeling. Since ten of the most frequently observed injury types make up 95.72% of all the claims, separate logistic regression models were built for each of them. Besides injury type, we also identified STD days paid and age of claimant as statistically significant predictors. The logistic regression models can be used to identify high-risk claims prior to or at the First Final STD payment date provided we know the injury type, STD days paid and age of claimant. The investigation showed that the more STD days paid and the older the injured worker, the higher the probability of the claim being high-risk.

Background The medical schemes industry has been characterised by extreme uncertainty in recent times. Industry turbulence can be attributed to a number of factors that have impacted on the manner in which business is conducted. Amongst these the most significant is the change in legislation that has occurred in the laws governing the administration of medical schemes. The industry is characterised by an increasing number of schemes competing for a finite number of profitable customers. In light of these changes, it was thought prudent to investigate the consumer behaviour characteristics surrounding this industry. Objectives The objective of the study was to determine the factors that influence consumers to choose particular medical schemes over others. To this end it was hypothesised that four factors, namely price, benefits offered, ancillary benefits and broker influence played significant role in the decision making process of consumers . Methods Data was collected using a research questionnaire. This questionnaire was issued to respondents who had recently purchased, or attempted to purchase medical cover. Contact was made with the respondents via a snowball sampling method, using insurance brokers as points of contact. The questionnaire was composed of a mixture of open ended, dichotomous and disconfirmation scale type questions . Results Of the four factors that were hypothesised to significantly influence consumers in their choice of medical schemes, it was found that two were proved correct. These being, the benefits offered and the price of the offering respectively. The third hypothesis, the effect of an ancillary benefits programme was found to influence the consumer in their choice, however respondents did not regard the programmes as vital. They did however indicate that they tried to purchase cover that included an ancillary benefits programme. The final hypothesis was disproved as it was found that consumers did not always follow the recommendations of the broker in choosing a medical scheme. They were however found to consult extensively with vanous brokers regarding the types of cover that are available. The final choice between medical schemes were however made by the consumer independently of the brokers influence. Conclusion It is recommended that further research be conducted to ensure that consumer needs harmonize with the medical schemes product offerings. The importance of the various factors that compromise the purchasing process should be measured against each other to determine the importance that consumers place on a specific factor. This prevents medical schemes from placing emphasis on unwanted product features and thereby wasting valuable resources. Further investigation into the topic should encompass all aspects that are deemed relevant, as well as a cross tabulation between the variable factors influencing consumer choice and consumers demographic information. This would further aid the organisations to firstly create more efficient market segments, and secondly to more effectively match product offerings with the given segments. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of Natal,Durban, 2003.

No description available.

Thesis (doctoral)--Université de Genève.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1944. / Also issued in print.

Thesis (M.H.A.)--University of Michigan, 1960. / Also issued in print.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Zürich.

Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1945. / Also issued in print.

Thèse. Droit. Paris. 1943.