Publications

May 2000
Article

Is the Abnormal Return Following Equity Issuances Anomalous?

By: A. Brav, C. Geczy and Paul Gompers

Keywords: Equity; Insurance

September 2013 (Revised May 2014)
Case

OdontoPrev

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Matthew Lingenbrink, Joshua Turnbull and Ricardo Reisen De Pinho

Brazil's largest dental insurer, a successful and innovative firm, has saturated the corporate market and faces stiffer competition. It must decide whether to enter a new market in Brazil or to expand into other parts of Central and South America. View Details

Keywords: Health; Business or Company Management; Market Entry and Exit; Insurance; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; North and Central America; Brazil

August 2011 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Amil and the Health Care System in Brazil

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

Dr. Edson Bueno created Amil, Brazil's largest health insurer. Unlike many others, it is vertically integrated. Dr. Bueno has two opportunities for growth. Which, if any, should he pursue? View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Innovation and Invention; Opportunities; Insurance; Vertical Integration; Insurance Industry; Brazil

29 Apr 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

Use Personal Experience to Pick Winning Stocks

that the prices are right, because they usually are," says Harvard Business School finance professor Lauren H. Cohen, who serves as an editor of Management Science. "From there, you can look for the small corners where they are... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

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

October 2018
Supplement

African Bank Investments Limited (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Less than a year after joining the board of African Bank Investments Limited (ABIL), the newest director finds himself in difficult discussions with other directors about removing the struggling company’s CEO. The case is set in South Africa in mid-2014 as shares in... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Personal Finance; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Insurance; Leadership; Management; Risk Management; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; Africa; South Africa

March 1999 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Tufts Health Plan

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Nancy D. Beaulieu

Describes the introduction of capitation by a managed care company and the challenges of managing financial risk in the Medicare population. Focuses on the relationship between the health plan and physicians. View Details

Keywords: Health; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Risk and Uncertainty; Insurance; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry

03 Sep 2020
Op-Ed

Why American Health Care Needs Its Own SEC

services of unknown quality. The lack of transparency protects providers and insurers from needing to compete on the price and quality of their services. Lack of competition, in turn, inflates the cost and probably also diminishes the... View Details

Keywords: by Regina E. Herzlinger; Health

June 1989 (Revised July 1993)
Case

CIGNA Worldwide

By: John A. Quelch

A CIGNA Worldwide (CWW) task group of European country directors and key functional managers is meeting in November 1988 to discuss how CWW should respond to the European Community's plan to remove existing internal barriers and restrictions to the free flow of goods... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Insurance; Competitive Strategy; Emerging Markets; Trade; Insurance Industry; Europe

November 2023 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Aviva plc: Examining Net Zero

By: Peter Tufano, Brian Trelstad and Matteo Gasparini

The board of Aviva Plc, one of the world’s largest insurers, must review its climate risk exposures and evaluate next steps. Risk experts at the firm have conducted a robust set of analyses prepared for its regulator, the Bank of England, simulating how various climate... View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Climate Change; Insurance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Risk Management; Adaptation; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry; Europe; United Kingdom

January 2023
Case

Thomas Buberl: Refounding AXA

By: Hubert Joly, Mihir Desai and Amram Migdal

In 2022, AXA and its CEO Thomas Buberl faced new types of challenges, including systemic risks such as climate change, geopolitical instability, public health crises, and social tensions caused by economic risks. AXA was one of the world’s largest insurers. Since... View Details

August 1989 (Revised May 1993)
Case

Computer Company's Health Plan

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Keywords: Health; Insurance

27 Feb 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

How Following Best Business Practices Can Improve Health Care

Either Heal Health Care?A public insurance option could use its scale to hold prices down, but only if the approach avoids the financing gimmicks that are undermining Medicare. Research Papers Cohort... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Health; Medical Devices & Supplies

October 2022
Supplement

Beam Dental (B)

By: Rembrand Koning and Alicia Dadlani

In May 2016, venture-backed Beam Dental was on the brink of financial collapse. Cofounder and CEO Alex Frommeyer weighed the unattractive terms of a bridge loan offered by Beam’s largest investor. Frommeyer needed to decide whether to accept the terms or concede defeat... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financing and Loans; Insurance Industry; United States; Kentucky; Ohio

April 2013 (Revised June 2016)
Case

AIG and the American Taxpayers (A)

By: Karthik Ramanna and Matthew Shaffer

Explores the decision faced by AIG's board on whether to join shareholder and ex-CEO Maurice Greenberg's lawsuit against the U.S. government. The suit, argued by super-lawyer David Boies (of Bush v. Gore and California Gay Marriage fame), claims that in September 2008... View Details

Keywords: Property Rights; Financial Institutions; Financial Markets; Financial Crisis; Property; Insurance Industry; United States

August 14, 2008
Article

How Rehospitalizations Are Hurting Medicare

By: Robert C. Pozen

Keywords: Health; Insurance