Publications

05 Jul 2016
News

Health Insurance Stores and Health Hubs Innovations That Get Close to the Customer

Jul 2012
Conference Presentation

The Indigenization of Insurance in China

By: Elisabeth Koll

June 1982 (Revised August 1985)
Case

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (A)

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28 Mar 2014
News

Start-Up Aims to Reinvent Health Insurance

August 2024 (Revised November 2024)
Case

No Labels and the 2024 Presidential Insurance Plan

By: Robert F. White and Tom Quinn

After observing record voter dissatisfaction with the choices in the 2024 U.S. presidential election—Democratic nominee President Joe Biden and Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump—the bipartisan nonprofit No Labels decided to reserve ballot access in... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Forecasting and Prediction; Lawsuits and Litigation; Failure; System Shocks; Political Elections; Motivation and Incentives; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; United States

26 May 2020
News

The Five Deadly Sins Of Private Health Insurance

November 1989
Background Note

Note on the U.S. Life Insurance Industry

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February 2005 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Allianz (A2): An Insurer Acquired a Bank

By: Joseph L. Bower, Marc L. Bertoneche, Anders Sjoman and Sonja Ellingson Hout

Supplements the (A) case. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Banking Industry; Germany

25 Jul 2016
News

Insurers will consolidate even if mega-mergers fail

Web

Retirement Plan or Life Insurance - Alumni

Giving Retirement Plan or Life Insurance Giving Retirement Plan or Life Insurance To name HBS as a beneficiary of your retirement plan or life insurance policy, contact the... View Details

December 1994 (Revised October 1996)
Case

Patriot National Insurance Company: Case and Simulation

Designed to be used in conjunction with Byrnes, Byrnes & Townsend. Discusses a suit brought by a woman client who was badly injured in an automobile accident and alleges that a proximate cause of the accident was faulty repairs on her car by a Patriot-insured auto... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Insurance; Insurance Industry

Article

Understanding the Advice of Commissions-Motivated Agents: Evidence from the Indian Life Insurance Market

By: Santosh Anagol, Shawn Cole and Shayak Sarkar

We conduct a series of field experiments to evaluate the quality of advice provided by life insurance agents in India. Agents overwhelmingly recommend unsuitable, strictly dominated products, which provide high commissions to the agent. Agents cater to the beliefs of... View Details

Keywords: Advice; Customers; Insurance; Service Operations; Motivation and Incentives; Ethics; India

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July 2022 (Revised February 2025)
Case

A Soul and a Service: North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance

By: Tom Nicholas and John Masko

The North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association (the Mutual) was founded in 1898 as a for-profit entity selling life insurance catering to the Black community. The Mutual was entering a field crowded with established White-owned competitors that largely refused to... View Details

Keywords: Black Entrepreneurs; Insurance; History; Race; Prejudice and Bias; Entrepreneurship; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development Strategy; Insurance Industry; United States

Research Summary

Book Chapter on Insurance Market in Brazil (with Marcelo de Paiva Abreu):

Little is known about the Brazilian insurance market, especially in the period before 1913. I am currently working on a book chapter for SwissRe (co-authored with prof. Marcelo de Paiva Abreu) that will hopefully fill in this gap in the literature. View Details

May 21, 2020
Editorial

Primary Care Is Hurting: Why Aren't Private Insurers Pitching In?

By: Leemore S. Dafny and J. Michael McWilliams

Primary care clinicians are the front line for patients with suspected infection. We rely on them to diagnose, triage, and manage patients with potential or confirmed COVID infections. They are also responsible for keeping non-COVID medical conditions under control... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Primary Care; Health Pandemics; Health Care and Treatment; Financial Condition; Insurance