Can private health insurance improve happiness? Evidence from European countries

Happiness was often associated with money or healthy status, but hardly with the insurance sector. Starting from the premise that private health insurance (PHI) products contribute to the quality of life through the coverage level of each policy, one major aspect remains to be investigated: can private health insurance improve people's reported happiness in the European context? Using a panel analysis on a sample of 30 European countries over the 2010-2020 period, our results show that PHI is a significant determinant of happiness. This new outlook can improve the list of benefits that come with signing a PHI policy.

Automated summary

Private health insurance is found to be a significant determinant of happiness in the European context, based on a panel analysis of 30 European countries over the period of 2010-2020.