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(316)
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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(316)
- News (93)
- Research (170)
- Multimedia (3)
- Faculty Publications (72)
- June 2018
- Background Note
Introduction to Life Settlements
By: Alexander Braun, Lauren H. Cohen, Christopher J. Malloy and Jiahua Xu
Life insurance is an asset owned by the majority of American adults (61%). Note that this 61% penetration rate is essentially at parity with home ownership (64%) and higher than that of 401(k) retirement account ownership (53%). Life settlements, or life insurance... View Details
Braun, Alexander, Lauren H. Cohen, Christopher J. Malloy, and Jiahua Xu. "Introduction to Life Settlements." Harvard Business School Background Note 218-127, June 2018.
- 03 Jan 2014
- News
This Is Not Your Parents' Health Insurance
- June 1988 (Revised July 1989)
- Case
John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co.: The Inflation Strategy Task Force (A)
1980 was a critical time for John Hancock with high inflation, high interest rates, increased competition, and the desertion of policy holders seeking new investment opportunities. A new lower level (of vice presidents) task force was set up by the executive committee... View Details
Barnes, Louis B. "John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co.: The Inflation Strategy Task Force (A)." Harvard Business School Case 488-049, June 1988. (Revised July 1989.)
- 2012
- Chapter
China: The Indigenization of Insurance
By: Elisabeth Koll and David Faure
The concept of insurance was introduced to China in the early nineteenth century by Westerners trading in Guangzhou and practised essentially among them. We argue that indigenization of insurance, in particular life insurance, was a slow process that stretched from the... View Details
Koll, Elisabeth, and David Faure. "China: The Indigenization of Insurance." In World Insurance: The Evolution of a Global Risk Network, edited by Peter Borscheid and Niels Viggo Haueter. Oxford University Press, 2012.
- April 2006
- Article
Competitive Advantage and the Value Network Configuration: Making Decisions at a Swedish Life Insurance Company
By: Øystein D. Fjeldstad and Christian H.M. Ketels
When the Swedish Life Insurers Förenade Liv found themselves in difficulties in a rapidly changing market, their response was to call in the consultants. And one of the consultant's first suggestions was to use the Value Network, not the Value Chain, as a new... View Details
Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Fluctuation; Networks; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Value; Quality; Decision Making; Market Transactions; Performance Effectiveness; Customers; Insurance Industry; Sweden
Fjeldstad, Øystein D., and Christian H.M. Ketels. "Competitive Advantage and the Value Network Configuration: Making Decisions at a Swedish Life Insurance Company." Long Range Planning 39, no. 2 (April 2006): 109–131.
- June 1988
- Case
John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co.: The Inflation Strategy Task Force (B)
Describes what happened after the apparent eruption and traumas within the task force described in the (A) case. The task force moved from being "the very worst committee" according to one member to becoming "the very best." Tries to explain how and why. Also describes... View Details
Barnes, Louis B. "John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co.: The Inflation Strategy Task Force (B)." Harvard Business School Case 488-050, June 1988.
- 2014
- Chapter
Comparative Regulation of Market Intermediaries: Insights from the Indian Life Insurance Market
By: Santosh Anagol, Shawn A. Cole and Shayak Sarkar
Anagol, Santosh, Shawn A. Cole, and Shayak Sarkar. "Comparative Regulation of Market Intermediaries: Insights from the Indian Life Insurance Market." Chap. 12 in Modernizing Insurance Regulation, edited by John H. Biggs and Matthew P. Richardson. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2014.
- February 2020 (Revised June 2020)
- Case
From Cradle to Heaven: Taikang Insurance Group
By: William C. Kirby, Shu Lin, John P. McHugh and Yuanzhuo Wang
Taikang Insurance Group was a leading Chinese insurance and financial services institution. It operated in the insurance, asset management, and health and senior care industries. Due to China’s underdeveloped social welfare state, Taikang saw an opportunity for the... View Details
Kirby, William C., Shu Lin, John P. McHugh, and Yuanzhuo Wang. "From Cradle to Heaven: Taikang Insurance Group." Harvard Business School Case 320-088, February 2020. (Revised June 2020.)
- May 2019 (Revised May 2020)
- Case
fidentiaX: The Tradable Insurance Marketplace on Blockchain
By: Alexander Braun, Lauren H. Cohen and Jiahua Xu
Three years ago, Alvin Ang and his partner founded fidentiaX in Singapore, with the ambition to create the world’s first marketplace for tradable insurance policies on blockchain. With a 26-page white paper, the start-up closed a successful fundraising round through an... View Details
Keywords: Blockchain; Insurance; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technology Adoption; Business Strategy; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; Singapore
Braun, Alexander, Lauren H. Cohen, and Jiahua Xu. "fidentiaX: The Tradable Insurance Marketplace on Blockchain." Harvard Business School Case 219-116, May 2019. (Revised May 2020.)
- June 2023
- Teaching Note
From Cradle to Heaven: Taikang Insurance Group
By: William C. Kirby and Noah B. Truwit
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 320-088. The case explores the rise of Taikang Insurance Group and its quest to be a leader of one of China's fastest-growing industries. Due to China's underdeveloped social welfare state, Taikang saw an opportunity for the private... View Details
- August 2010 (Revised December 2010)
- Case
Malcolm Life Enhances Its Variable Annuities
By: Robert C. Pozen and David J. Pearlman
The case involves an insurance CEO choosing between different designs for a variable annuity product in light of hedging, marketing, and pricing issues. The case provides students with background on the economics and regulation of life insurance and variable annuities.... View Details
Keywords: Annuities; Insurance; Investment Return; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Product Design; Insurance Industry; United States
Pozen, Robert C., and David J. Pearlman. "Malcolm Life Enhances Its Variable Annuities." Harvard Business School Case 311-041, August 2010. (Revised December 2010.)
- November 2011 (Revised March 2013)
- Case
China Life: Micro Insurance for the Poor
By: Shawn Cole and Lilei Xu
China Life must decide whether to accept the government's "invitation" to develop a microinsurance product for the rural poor. Can it be done profitably? View Details
Cole, Shawn, and Lilei Xu. "China Life: Micro Insurance for the Poor." Harvard Business School Case 212-030, November 2011. (Revised March 2013.)
- 05 Dec 2014
- News
Life settlement gets a welcome face-lift
- Fast Answer
Insurance industry: companies and analysis
Where can I find information on the insurance industry? Best's Library Center: provides profiles of property, casualty, life and health insurance companies in the United... View Details
- 2018
- Working Paper
The Impact of Pensions and Insurance on Global Yield Curves
By: Robin Greenwood and Annette Vissing-Jorgensen
We document a strong effect of pension and insurance company (P&I) assets on the long end of the yield curve. Using data from 26 countries, the yield spread between 30-year and 10-year government bond yields is negatively related to the ratio of pension assets (in... View Details
Greenwood, Robin, and Annette Vissing-Jorgensen. "The Impact of Pensions and Insurance on Global Yield Curves." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-109, June 2018. (Revised December 2018.)
- April 2025
- Case
Thrivent: From Insurance Agents to Financial Advisors
By: Hubert Joly, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Tom Quinn
Thrivent, a midwestern financial services company with a centuries-long history rooted in Lutheranism, had reached $10 billion in revenue mostly by selling life insurance. In the 2020s, however, CEO Terry Rasmussen began a transformation process centered around the... View Details
Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Talent and Talent Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Forecasting and Prediction; Employee Relationship Management; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Job Design and Levels; Human Capital; Leading Change; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; United States; Minneapolis
- November 2009 (Revised March 2011)
- Case
New York Life and Immediate Annuities
By: Julio J. Rotemberg and John T. Gourville
By positioning Immediate Annuities as "guaranteed lifetime income," New York Life has built itself a $1.4 billion per year business by 2009. However, to make Immediate Annuities a mainstream financial product for retirees, New York Life must understand why many... View Details
Keywords: Insurance; Personal Finance; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Retirement; Salesforce Management; Insurance Industry
Rotemberg, Julio J., and John T. Gourville. "New York Life and Immediate Annuities." Harvard Business School Case 510-040, November 2009. (Revised March 2011.)
- 2020
- Working Paper
Internal Models, Make Believe Prices, and Bond Market Cornering
By: Ishita Sen and Varun Sharma
Exploiting position-level heterogeneity in regulatory incentives to misreport and novel data on regulators, we document that U.S. life insurers inflate the values of corporate bonds using internal models. We estimate an additional $9-$18 billion decline in regulatory... View Details
Keywords: Life Insurers; Capital Regulation; Internal Models; Corporate Bonds; Regulatory Supervision; Concentrated Ownership; Bonds; Capital; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Insurance; Investment Portfolio
Sen, Ishita, and Varun Sharma. "Internal Models, Make Believe Prices, and Bond Market Cornering." Working Paper, June 2020.
- October 2001 (Revised November 2001)
- Case
Provident Life and Accident Insurance: The Acquisition of Paul Revere
By: Mihir A. Desai, Frank Williamson, Mark Veblen and Yuming Zou
Provident Life & Accident Insurance Co. has made an initial bid to acquire a primary competitor, Paul Revere, from conglomerate, Textron. The due diligence process uncovers a significant block of problematic disability insurance policies. Provident is forced to assess... View Details
Keywords: Insurance; Financial Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Policy; Investment; Business Strategy; Cash Flow; Price; Bids and Bidding; Financial Reporting; Business Conglomerates; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry
Desai, Mihir A., Frank Williamson, Mark Veblen, and Yuming Zou. "Provident Life and Accident Insurance: The Acquisition of Paul Revere." Harvard Business School Case 202-044, October 2001. (Revised November 2001.)