The American Way is incompatible with the U.S. experience of post-World War II capitalism. National and individual self-determination are collapsing in the face of profit-seeking, social compulsions, and the imperatives of global competition. Iain Hay states that the illusion of free choice and the misguided rhetoric of individualism remain: they mask new realities of compulsion and collectivism. This cultural contradiction is thoroughly analyzed by Hay from an unusual, outside perspective through an investigation of the development of medical liability insurance and its implications for tort law reform and health care provision in the United States.

"Money, Medicine, and Malpractice in American Society" transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries to provide a straightforward account of circumstances giving rise to particular forms of legal, medical, and social regulation in the United States. Hay explores the roots of change in medical and legal regulation in the United States through an inquiry into medical malpractice and health care costs in the ever-changing domestic and worldwide arena. It provides the first comprehensive association of American medical liability issues, health care spending, and post-War national and international contexts. This book will be of particular interest to scholars, students, and doctors as it provides a useful framework for understanding legal and medical change associated with medical liability and its insurance.

Climate change brings about a new set of major economic risks arising from changing weather patterns, extreme weather events and rising sea levels. Most at risk are developing countries who, despite considerable post-disaster donor aid, have been bearing the major brunt of disaster-related losses. One adaptation solution that is rapidly gaining the support of countries and international donors is a risk transfer to the global reinsurance and capital markets. This volume, a special issue of the journal Climate Policy, explores the role that insurance-based mechanisms can play in helping developing countries prepare for climate change. It offers a unique and comprehensive perspective on the potential role of insurance solutions in global adaptation to climate change and attempts to engender debate on the role of insurance in reducing global emissions and encouraging climate-friendly corporate behaviour.

"Brackenridge's Medical Selection of Life Risks" has long been recognized as the leading reference book on insurance medicine. The fifth edition provides a comprehensive guide to life expectancy for underwriters and clinicians involved in the life insurance industry. Extensively revised and expanded the new edition reflects developments in life and healthcare insurance as well as medicine. There is expanded coverage of disability issues and full account is taken of new developments in genetics and gene therapy and also recent technology and regulatory and compliance issues. Part I deals with the principles of life and disability insurance and the logistics of life underwriting. Part II is devoted to a systematic clinical appraisal of underwriting problems, mainly relating to life insurance but also, where appropriate, to disability, critical illness and long term care insurance.

Banking markets have experienced a general trend towards conglomeration in recent years which has been facilitated by the deregulation of banks' activities. A particular feature of financial conglomeration has been the diversification of banks into insurance activities, and especially life insurance. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the concept and market characteristics of the bancassurance phenomenon. It also evaluates the impact on banking risks associated with diversification into the insurance business.

With a foreword by Gabriel Bernardino, Chairman of EIOPASolvency II (Directive 2009/138/EC ) regulates the solvency requirements for EU insurers and reinsurers. It aims to reduce the risk that an insurer would be unable to meet claims, to provide early warning to supervisors so that they can intervene promptly if capital falls below the required level, and to promote confidence in the financial stability of the insurance sector. Solvency II not only sets out the capital requirements to guarantee policyholder protection, but also includes measures to stimulate risk management and good governance and to improve transparency.This book provides a thorough and well-structured overview of the regulatory regime and how it will affect insurers, re-insurers and other market participants, including policyholders. The author, who was closely involved in the making of Solvency II, offers all the necessary insights and explanations to better understand the new solvency regime. While Solvency I only sets basic solvency standards, Solvency II is more sophisticated introducing a risk based solvency capital regime and modernising EU insurance regulation thus putting much emphasis on high quality prudential supervision. This improves the protection of policyholders, creates an incentive for good risk management, recognizes the economic reality of a group, establishes market transparency and provides for a modern risk based supervisory regime, in short, as the book's subtitle already suggests, Solvency II is good for you.Solvency Requirements for EU Insurers provides a unique insight into the complex world of insurance and will be useful to risk managers, actuaries, accountants, lawyers, board members of (re) insurance companies, insurance intermediaries, consultants, regulators, supervisors, academics, students and, more generally, all those involved with or interested in insurance and in the operation of the insurance market.

Although much has been written about the economy of the Soviet Union, little attention has been given to its insurance system. Providing a unique introduction to the topic, Insurance in the Soviet Union examines whether socialist ideology changes the legal foundations and implementation of insurance. The book describes the administrative structure, market, extent of protection, types of policies, and the place of insurance in the general structure of Soviet finance.

This work offers a comprehensive view on bancassurance from its origin to future challenges and opportunities, considering the relevant changes currently interesting the financial services industry. It also provides a detailed review of theoretical and empirical literature dealing with financial conglomeration.

Insurance is a concept, a technique, and an economic institution. It is a major tool of risk management, and plays an important role in the economic, social, and political life of all countries. Economic growth throughout the world has even expanded the role of insurance. Theory and Practice of Insurance aims to describe the significance of insurance institutions, the reasons they exist and how they function. The author emphasizes fundamental principles in risk and insurance, using an international frame of reference. This volume begins with an introduction to the concept of risk, then proceeds to cover insurance and its relationship to the economy; the principles of risk management and insurance; and the characteristics and performance of insurance companies.

Motor vehicle accidents are still a leading cause of death, even if the trend has somewhat declined over the past 20 years. Indeed, motor vehicle accidents are a significant cause of death in comparison with air and space transport accidents, homicides and even HIV infections, causes which are more often highlighted in the media. As shown in this book, motor vehicle accidents are particularly damaging to very young drivers. The assessment of driving risks is a common concern for road transportation safety and the automobile insurance industry. In both cases, there is an awareness of the great losses resulting from the deaths, injuries and property damage caused by traffic accidents. Research is essential to counteract this public health threat, to assess the success or failure of countermeasures, and to solve the problems it generates in the insurance industry. This book is for people concerned about road crashes (prevention and compensation) and about the insurance problems they pose - namely private and public institutional authorities, consultants, administrators, practitioners, and researchers interested in sharing the authors' experience in this domain. The book presents original contributions related to motor vehicle insurance and road safety. All papers have been evaluated by external referees. Four subjects are covered: 1) Automobile Insurance Pricing, Risks and Asymmetric Information; 2) Insurance Fraud; 3) Young Drivers: Licensing Policies, Evaluation and Risks; and 4) Road Insurance Regulation.

This book is a comprehensive chronicle of the transformation of the intensely competitive British insurance industry in response to evolving economic, social, technological and political conditions. It analyzes the fast-changing shape of the distribution system, the role of the state and the shifting boundaries of insurability and risk transfer.

This is the first book primarily directed toward assisting injured employees in gaining an understanding of the workers' compensation system, and in helping themselves and their families through the process of recovering from a work-related injury. By means of actual cases, readers are guided in both identification and avoidance of the risks and hazards of the system in order to help them achieve successful resolutions. The book also provides assistance to other involved parties in the workers' compensation system, such as medical professionals, employers, and insurance personnel, so that a positive outcome may be reached for all concerned.

This guide begins with actual cases, and includes the history and development of the workers' compensation system, and a description of the conspicuous features of state laws. The book also gives the perspectives of medical and rehabilitation providers, insurance companies, and the employers. A self-help section is also included for injured workers in order to evaluate their situations and to analyze their options. The book also contains supplemental information regarding federal and state workers' compensation laws, associations that provide assistance, and information on specific injuries. This book is a valuable source for injured workers and their families. It addresses pertinent issues in workers' compensation cases, and challenges some generally accepted views. It is also helpful and informative to individuals in industry such as human resource managers, safety professionals, and persons in supervisory and managerial positions. This guide offers insightful information to medical and rehabilitation professionals, students of medical systems, insurance professionals and attorneys specializing in workers' compensation, resulting in improved communication for all those involved in the workers' compensation system.

This volume gathers selected peer-reviewed papers presented at the international conference "MAF 2016 - Mathematical and Statistical Methods for Actuarial Sciences and Finance", held in Paris (France) at the Universite Paris-Dauphine from March 30 to April 1, 2016. The contributions highlight new ideas on mathematical and statistical methods in actuarial sciences and finance. The cooperation between mathematicians and statisticians working in insurance and finance is a very fruitful field, one that yields unique theoretical models and practical applications, as well as new insights in the discussion of problems of national and international interest. This volume is addressed to academicians, researchers, Ph.D. students and professionals.

This book is different from all other books on Life Insurance by at least one of the following characteristics 1-4. 1. The treatment of life insurances at three different levels: time-capital, present value and price level. We call time-capital any distribution of a capital over time: (*) is the time-capital with amounts Cl, ~, ... , C at moments Tl, T , ..* , T resp. N 2 N For instance, let (x) be a life at instant 0 with future lifetime X. Then the whole oO oO life insurance A is the time-capital (I,X). The whole life annuity a is the x x time-capital (1,0) + (1,1) + (1,2) + ... + (I,'X), where 'X is the integer part ofX. The present value at 0 of time-capital (*) is the random variable T1 T TN Cl V + ~ v , + ... + CNV . (**) In particular, the present value ofA 00 and a 00 is x x 0 0 2 A = ~ and a = 1 + v + v + ... + v'X resp. x x The price (or premium) of a time-capital is the expectation of its present value. In particular, the price ofA 00 and ax 00 is x 2 A = E(~) and a = E(I + v + v + ... + v'X) resp.

Following events such as the 2008 credit crunch and financial crisis, many sectors of the economy suffered; nevertheless, reinsurance managed to maintain its strong position in the market industry and the global economic arena. Arbitration has traditionally been used in reinsurance, due in no small part to its effective, time- and cost-efficient nature. Hence, reinsurance contracts often include arbitration clauses requiring that any and all disputes arising under the contract be resolved by arbitration. The current work provides an in-depth treatment of reinsurance arbitrations and the various issues they entail in the most representative jurisdictions for such arbitrations. It also aims to pave the way for future directions of arbitration in the context of reinsurance. Any participant in the reinsurance market arena looking for a roadmap to the fascinating legal environment in which reinsurance arbitrations operate would be well advised to have this book on hand. Following events such as the 2008 credit crunch and financial crisis, many sectors of the economy suffered; nevertheless, reinsurance managed to maintain its strong position in the market industry and the global economic arena. Arbitration has traditionally been used in reinsurance due in no small part to its effective, time- and cost-efficient nature. Hence, reinsurance contracts often include arbitration clauses requiring that any and all disputes arising under the contract be resolved by arbitration. The current work provides an in-depth treatment of reinsurance arbitrations and the various issues they entail in the most representative jurisdictions for such arbitrations. It also aims to pave the way for future directions of arbitration in the context of reinsurance.Any participant in the reinsurance market arena looking for a roadmap to the fascinating legal environment in which reinsurance arbitrations operate would be well advised to have this book on hand.

Risk taking in business contributes towards innovation. Yet excessive risk taking is associated with corporate failure. Many authors have analysed the relationship between personal liability rules of managers and excessive risk taking. In this context, previous researchers have often argued that insurance against personal liability of the manager (D&O insurance) would weaken the manager's incentive to take care.However, little is known about the workings and effects of D&O insurance. This book analyses how D&O insurance should work ideally and how it currently works in the USA, the UK, the Netherlands and Germany.It illustrates how D&O insurance threatens but also benefits society and the economy. In fact, a properly functioning D&O insurance system can more elegantly incentivize adequate risk taking than for example, direct regulation of managerial activity (e.g. disqualification) or the adoption of harsher liability rules.This book provides an overview of the implications of D&O insurance, in particular to:- policy makers who can take concrete reform proposals from this book;- investors who can increase their returns by using the information on corporate D&O insurance policies;- creditors who can better estimate their debtor's default risk by understanding the debtor's D&O insurance policy; and- finally, prospective insurers who can learn in depth about the D&O market, the policy design and the D&O risk.

The book gives a comprehensive overview of modern non-life actuarial science. It starts with a verbal description (i.e. without using mathematical formulae) of the main actuarial problems to be solved in non-life practice. Then in an extensive second chapter all the mathematical tools needed to solve these problems are dealt with - now in mathematical notation. The rest of the book is devoted to the exact formulation of various problems and their possible solutions. Being a good mixture of practical problems and their actuarial solutions, the book addresses above all two types of readers: firstly students (of mathematics, probability and statistics, informatics, economics) having some mathematical knowledge, and secondly insurance practitioners who remember mathematics only from some distance. Prerequisites are basic calculus and probability theory.

Two related trends have created novel challenges for managing risk in the United States. The first trend is a series of dramatic changes in liability law as tort law has expanded to assign liability to defendants for reasons other than negligence. The unpredictability of future costs induced by changes in tort law may be partly responsible for the second major trend known as the liability crisis' - the disappearance of liability protection in markets for particularly unpredictable risks. This book examines decisions people make about insurance and liability. An understanding of such decision making may help explain why the insurance crisis resulted from the new interpretations of tort law and what to do about it. The articles cover three kinds of decisions: consumer decisions to purchase insurance; insurer decisions about coverage they offer; and the decisions of the public about the liability rules they prefer, which are reflected in legislation and regulation. For each of these three kinds of decisions, normative theories such as expected utility theory can be used as benchmarks against which actual decisions are judged.

Insurance and financial markets have been radically and deeply changed in the last 20 years. Deregulation, internationalization of insurance and financial institutions, increasing competition, electronic commerce, bancassurance, and the emergence of new risks are among the challenges faced by insurers and other financial firms. These developing trends pose both global and local challenges for financial firms participating in insurance markets. The Handbook of International Insurance: Between Global Dynamics and Local Contingencies increases understanding of insurance markets by adopting an international comparative approach. Leading scholars and practitioners worldwide provide detailed information on market trends, regulation, taxation, and economic developments for thirteen specific countries in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Each country chapter covers key aspects of insurance: life insurance, non-life insurance, and public and private social insurance programs. The book also includes comprehensive chapters on reinsurance, Lloyd's of London, alternative risk transfer, South and East Asian insurance markets, and European insurance markets.Setting the stage is an overview chapter by the editors focusing on overall conclusions on globalization. A unique source of information on the evolution of insurance markets worldwide, this book provides valuable perspectives for scholars, practitioners, and policy makers.

Creating the Future with All Finance and Financial Conglomerates comprises an academic search for an understanding of all finance and financial conglomerates. It presents a strategic and economic analysis of diversification strategies and the growing interface between different types of financial firms. On the basis of a solid analysis of theoretical foundations and practical value, the book develops basic concepts of creating the future: especially solutions in managing risks and fresh ideas for the development of integrated financial services. The structure of the book is logical: starting on theoretical foundations (section 1, part A) and examining the economic value of All Finance and Financial Conglomerates (part B), leads to creating a concept for the future (part C). Case studies add additional practical value to this research. The review of the subject is completed by aspects of risk management in this sector and by political guidelines for the EU single market (section 2). The book builds further on Professor Van den Berghe's first publication, entitled Financial Conglomerates - New Rules for New Players (published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in October 1995) and broadens the scope in the direction of strategic and managerial aspects. The following five aspects underline the innovativeness of the material: The volume is not only focused on the diversification of banks via `bancassurance', but also analyses in depth the parallel developments in the insurance market, whereby insurers and insurance intermediaries launch themselves in the direction of `assurfinance'; The material analyses not only the cross-selling of each other's products and the blurring of the market boundaries, but also the diversification, collaboration, and integration on all other levels and functions; New conceptual tools (the financial conglomerates control board) are developed to provide a more in-depth comparison of the many cases of this international trend; The book goes far beyond the categorisation of the mode of diversification, by looking at all managerial aspects of such a growth strategy; and The work looks at the economic and legal aspects involved as well as at the more strategic and managerial aspects. This research has been made possible thanks to the financial support of The LEVOB Foundation.

The ageing of the European population brings new financial risks that call for state, market and societal responses. In 2011, the first baby-boom generation is turning 65, and forecasts predict that the size of the old-age population in need of long-term care will double in the next 50 years in Europe. However, how different countries are responding to the challenge of financing long-term care is still a question open to further examination, including the role of market development, changing intergenerational contracts and especially the constraints of state intervention. Growing long-term care needs in several European countries as well as the reshaping of traditional modes of care-giving further increase the pressure for sustainable funding of more comprehensive long-term care systems. This book examines different forms of partnership and the potential cooperation of state, market and societal stakeholders. It not only offers a full understanding of the institutional responses and mechanisms in place for financing old age but also provides a deep analysis of both the demand and supply factors underpinning the development of financial instruments to cover long-term care needs in Europe.

This book presents a market-consistent valuation framework for implicit embedded options in life insurance contracts. This framework is used to perform an empirical analysis based on more than 110,000 actual and in-force life insurance policies and with a focus on the modeling of interest rates. Its results are the answer to the central question posed in the objectives: What value do the embedded options and guarantees considered have? This question is answered both absolutely and relative to the current policy reserves, from the perspective of the insurer, the policyholder and the shareholder respectively

On the premise that pension provision in Europe will dramatically change over the next few decades, this book concentrates on the funded component of pension wealth, and specifically on annuities - financial products that, on the basis of actuarial equivalence, allow the conversion of wealth into a lifelong stream of income. Developing an Annuity Market in Europe provides an analysis of how longevity and return risks are dealt with, besides considering key features from both household and insurance company perspectives. It takes account of the fact that annuity markets are expected to attract much interest in future years given the prospective cuts in public pension expenditure. In order to fill the gap between shrinking pensions and desired retirement consumption, the authors argue, annuities must be well regulated and supplied with financially attractive products. These conditions hardly exist today: thin markets and scant interest prevail, information is incomplete and imperfect, products show significant disparities. The contributors to this book explore the causes of present malfunctioning and examine the changes that may give annuities a new and vital function, which, along with greater competition and greater regulation may significantly alter the present scene of pension finance. Finally, the book offers an overview of regulatory issues including transparency, prudential provisions, appropriate levels of guarantees, and administrative costs. This important and timely book will be invaluable to anyone interested in annuities, from practitioners through to students, researchers and academics concerned in financial or public economics.

In recent years, choice no-fault has emerged as a popular but controversial proposal for addressing the problem of high automobile insurance rates. Choice plans offer consumers the option of a lower-cost insurance policy with restrictions on filing lawsuits or a higher-cost policy with full tort rights. Some American states have implemented choice programs, and major federal choice legislation is now pending in the United States Congress. Choice no-fault has caught the attention of policy makers, the insurance industry, and academics. Until now, however, no single book has pulled together the available research on the topic. The Economics and Politics of Choice No-Fault Insurance fills that gap. Edited by scholars from different disciplines, each of whom has written extensively on automobile insurance issues, the book includes some of the best work in the area. Former Massachusetts Governor and presidential candidate Michael S. Dukakis wrote the foreword. Contributors include University of Virginia Law Professor Jeffrey O'Connell, widely considered the father of no-fault, ' as well as authors of the influential RAND study of the potential effects of choice no-fault on insurance rates. The book chapters, most of which were written especially for this volume, cover topics ranging from the impact of choice no-fault on accidents and driving behavior, to the effects of choice on medical care usage, to alternative approaches for resolving accidents involving both no-fault' and tort' electors, to the political feasibility of choice legislative proposals. Emphasis on the potential advantages of choice no-fault is balanced by consideration of possible ill effects.