Publications

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

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

February 2011 (Revised April 2011)
Background Note

Note on the Reinsurance Industry

By: Robert C. Pozen and Henoch Senbetta

This note begins with an overview of reinsurance contacts - their mechanics, types and pricing. It then discusses the structure of the reinsurance industry and the impact of recent crises on this industry. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Insurance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Industry Structures; Insurance Industry

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

Article

Affording to Wait: Medicare Initiation and the Use of Health Care

By: Guy David, Philip Saynisch, Victoria Acevado-Perez and Mark D. Neuman

Delays in receipt of necessary diagnostic and therapeutic medical procedures related to the timing of Medicare initiation at age 65 years have potentially broad welfare implications. We use 2005–2007 data from Florida and North Carolina to estimate the effect of... View Details

Keywords: Medicare; Behavior; Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; North Carolina; Florida

May 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Teaching Note

Lincoln Financial Meets the Financial Crisis (TN)

By: Robert C. Pozen

Teaching Note for 310137. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Decisions; Capital; Cost; Private Sector; Government and Politics; Compensation and Benefits; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Insurance; Insurance Industry

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

November 1999 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.

By: Paul M. Healy and Jacob Cohen

Pre-Paid Legal Services' business model reveals two key issues--managing the sales force and sales growth and managing claims. Students analyze the economics of the business and consider how to measure firm performance, how to evaluate and reward the sales force, and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Salesforce Management; Marketing Strategy; Accrual Accounting; Business Cycles; Forecasting and Prediction; Insurance; Business Growth and Maturation; Insurance Industry

Career Coach

Gail Chang

Gail wants to help students who are interested in the following industries: investment banking, private equity, insurance, corporate finance, risk management and pricing. Prior to her MBA, Gail worked in the corporate finance division of... View Details

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

May 2000
Article

Is the Abnormal Return Following Equity Issuances Anomalous?

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

Keywords: Equity; Insurance

September 2011
Teaching Note

The Allstate Corporation (TN)

By: John R. Wells

Teaching Note for 708485. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Profit; Insurance; Performance Improvement; Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; United States

01 Jun 2025
News

Agenda: Stacy Sonnenberg (MBA 2003)

SUPERFAN When Sonnenberg attends a game, she often doesn’t watch the court or field. “I’m always intrigued by stuff that the public doesn’t necessarily think about—like the width of concourses and the mix of seating types,” she says. (Photo: Benjamin Norman) “In... View Details

Keywords: Sasha Issenberg

August 1989 (Revised May 1993)
Case

Computer Company's Health Plan

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Keywords: Health; Insurance

01 Jun 2009
News

Too Big To Fail

proposed new regulations: higher capital requirements; leverage limits; FDIC-like insurance charges; and, when all else fails, a receivership process to restructure, sell, or liquidate a failing company. Bottom line, no firm should be too... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; federal bailouts; Finance; Finance

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

November 1981 (Revised January 1984)
Background Note

Note on the Property-Casualty Business

By: David E. Bell

Keywords: Insurance