Journal
GENEVA PAPERS ON RISK AND INSURANCE-ISSUES AND PRACTICE
Volume 41, Issue 3, Pages 468-490Publisher
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN LTD
DOI: 10.1057/gpp.2016.7
Keywords
life insurance; household life insurance demand; savings; gender issues; Italy
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Funding
- Collegio Carlo Alberto
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The purpose of this study is to analyse, for men and women, the microeconomic determinants of life insurance purchases. Indeed, only a few papers have tried to justify rigorously the gender-based differences in life insurance ownership. On the basis of survey data collected by the Bank of Italy in 2012 (the Survey on Income and Households), we estimate the propensity to buy and the willingness to pay for a life insurance contract. We examine the differences between two types of contracts, that is, traditional life and term life insurance and show that, in all cases, women are less likely to be insured than are men. The demand for insurance is highly correlated with income, family structure and employment status. Geographical variables within Italy significantly affect the demand too. We introduce novel variables that measure the financial status of households and their proximity to the financial market or, similarly, their familiarity with financial market opportunities. These determinants turn out to be significant and affect demand almost as much as traditional variables. To study policy implications, we calculate the probabilities of having either traditional life or term insurance, under several scenarios for the determinants of demand. Again, financial market proximity plays a key role.
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