Publications

August 2019
Case

ClearScore, 2018

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In October 2017, Experian, one of the “Big Three” consumer credit reporting agencies in the United Kingdom made an offer to acquire ClearScore for a total consideration of £293 million. Founded by Justin Basini, Dan Cobley, and Nigel Morris in 2014, ClearScore was the... View Details

June 2006
Case

Home Equity Protection

Nearly 70% of households in the United States own their own home and, yet, virtually no household is insured against a crash in housing values. Is there a market for an insurance product, home equity protection, that would provide this protection? Focuses on the... View Details

Keywords: Housing; Insurance; Product Design; Equity; Insurance Industry

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Teaching

Overview

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Course Requirements

Students are required to prepare a business plan, which employs the framework of this course, to explore an entrepreneurial opportunity in health care, and to evaluate their classmates' plans.

Career Focus

For... View Details

October 2019
Case

Engaging the Nationwide Workforce

By: Ethan S. Bernstein, Jessica Gover and Sarah Mehta

Nationwide is “on your side,” but did employees feel that way? CAO Gale King and CEO Steve Rasmussen, starting in 2008, invested heavily in a human capital strategy centered around “engagement” at the Ohio-based Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. Set in 2014, this... View Details

Article

A Public Option Can Be a Triple Win for U.S. Healthcare

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Richard Boxer

The United States needs to control healthcare costs and quality while reaching universal coverage. The strongest choice is a public option that allows people to choose between Medicare and private payers. But a public option needs sustainable financing mechanisms that... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare; Public Option; Universal Health Coverage; Health Care and Treatment; Cost Management; Quality; United States

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October 2015 (Revised September 2016)
Case

Whirlpool Corp.: Structuring the Deal to Acquire Hefei Rongshida Sanyo Electric Company

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Nancy Hua Dai

Ian Lee, Whirlpool's VP for North Asia, had been negotiating a possible acquisition with Jackie Jin, the chairman of a leading Chinese appliance manufacturer named Hefei Rongshida Sanyo Electric Company (Hefei Sanyo), for almost six months when suddenly Hefei Sanyo's... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Regulation; Cross-border Investment; Brand Names; State-owned Enterprise (SOE); Appliances; White Goods; Consumer Durables; Negotiation; Valuation; Mergers and Acquisitions; State Ownership; Foreign Direct Investment; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; China

2009
Working Paper

Labor Regulations and European Private Equity

By: Ant Bozkaya and William R. Kerr

European nations substitute between employment protection regulations and labor market expenditures (e.g., unemployment insurance benefits) for providing worker insurance. Employment regulations more directly tax firms making frequent labor adjustments than other labor... View Details

Keywords: Employment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Taxation; Insurance; Investment; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Europe

2010
Chapter

The Peculiar Politics of American Disaster Policy: How Television Has Changed Federal Relief

By: David Moss

Particularly since the 1960s, the federal government has played a significant role in financing disaster losses in the United States. The federal government may thus be thought of as providing an implicit form of public disaster insurance. However, unlike many... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Policy; Government and Politics; Media; Natural Disasters; United States

September 2012
Case

BASIX (Abridged)

By: Shawn Cole and Peter Tufano

BASIX, an Indian microfinance corporation, must decide whether to continue to sell weather insurance to its clients. A brand-new financial product, weather insurance pays if measured rainfall during the growing season falls below a pre-specified limit. Mr. Sattaiah,... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Microfinance; Household; Risk Management; Insurance; Banking Industry; India

June 2025
Article

Social Security and Trends in Wealth Inequality

By: Sylvain Catherine, Max Miller and Natasha Sarin

Recent influential work finds large increases in inequality in the U.S. based on measures of wealth concentration that notably exclude the value of social insurance programs. This paper shows that top wealth shares have not changed much over the last three decades when... View Details

Keywords: Wealth; Equality and Inequality; Taxation; Insurance; Welfare

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February 2007
Background Note

BASIX Simulation Model

By: Peter Tufano and Shawn A. Cole

Explains how to use Crystal Ball to simulate the insurance decision in the BASIX case. View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Business Model; Valuation; Decisions; Finance; Insurance Industry

April 1996 (Revised August 2005)
Case

Jedi Bank

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

Major Insurance Co. is a $15 billion insurance company that is an active, multi-family mortgage leader. This case is part of a negotiation game simulation that also includes Sunshine Villas, Silver Lane Apartments, and Jason Bosworth. View Details

Keywords: Mortgages; Interest Rates; Financing and Loans; Property; Negotiation Tactics; Management; Real Estate Industry; Banking Industry

Winter 2014
Article

Labor Regulations and European Venture Capital

By: Ant Bozkaya and William R. Kerr

European nations substitute between employment protection regulations and labor market expenditures (e.g., unemployment insurance benefits) for providing worker insurance. Employment regulations more directly tax firms making frequent labor adjustments than other labor... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Labor; Europe

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This episode in our climate adaptation series features HBS Professor John Macomber. John discusses how companies and governments need to incorporate climate resilience as they develop and finance real estate and infrastructure to address the risks of flooding,... View Details

October 10, 2019
Article

The Case for the Public Option Over Medicare for All

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Richard Boxer

How can the United States better control its health care costs and quality and still achieve universal coverage? The strongest choice is not Medicare for All, which would eliminate private insurance; it’s the public option, which would allow people to choose from... View Details

Keywords: Universal Health Coverage; Public Option; Medicare; Health Care and Treatment; Insurance; Cost Management; Quality; United States

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Register to Read

May 1996
Case

First Capital Holdings Corp.

By: Stuart C. Gilson, Harry DeAngelo and Linda DeAngelo

The manager of a money-management firm considers whether to invest in the securities of a large, financially troubled, California-based life insurance holding company that holds 40% of its assets in high-yield junk bonds. Over the past year, the value of its portfolio... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Debt Securities; Bonds; Valuation; Investment Return; Fair Value Accounting; Financial Institutions; Insurance Industry

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May 2025 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Humana Commits to Value-Based Care

By: V.G. Narayanan, Henry Eyring and David Lane

In late 2023, CEO Bruce Broussard reviewed health insurer Humana’s transformation into a value-based care ecosystem. Under its CenterWell brand, the several millions of members in Humana Medicare Advantage plans now had access to Humana-provided primary care, home... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Units; Financing and Loans; Innovation Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; Mergers and Acquisitions; Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Partners and Partnerships; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; United States

12 Apr 2021
News

Healthier by Design

February 2000
Case

E2M Health Services

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Naomi Atkins

Outlines the growth of an innovative diabetes disease management organization from 1994-99. Having demonstrated the success of their model in managing diabetes populations in Texas and New York State, the CEO and president must decide the future strategy of the company... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Markets; Revenue; Innovation and Invention; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Internet; Health Industry