Individual Insurance Policies Research Articles

SELECTED DETERMINANTS OF LIFE INSURANCE PURCHASE ACCORDING TO RESPONDENTS

The main purpose of the study was to evaluate selected determinants of life insurance purchase. The subjects of the study were adult individuals, while the subjects were life insurance. The source of data was primarily primary material obtained in 2022-2023 through a questionnaire survey. (104 responses were received). Data were processed using ꭓ2 statistical tests and Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric analysis of variance. Cross-tabulation included analysis of responses by gender, education, place, and monthly net income per person in the household. The mentioned determinants differentiated the responses in a statistically significant way. The results proved that as many as 81% of respondents had one insurance policy. The number of individual insurance policies only slightly exceeded the group form of insurance. Importantly, among the insured there were both old customers (insurance for more than 5 years) and new customers (1 year or up to 1 year). Respondents spend relatively low amounts on premiums but are satisfied with this protection. Factors influencing the purchase of these insurances were the desire to protect relatives in case of death, a general sense of security, the fact of having protection itself, and support in case of illness or invalidity.

Blockchain for Authorized Access of Health Insurance IoT System

Today's insurance industry plays a significant role in a variety of fields, particularly in health insurance. As IoT technology advances, health insurers in IoT networks can obtain real-time medical data for individuals and issue individual insurance policies based on a person's lifestyle. However, sharing personal data requires a guarantee of privacy and security. This paper suggests a Blockchain technology to solve this problem. The work presents a novel framework that integrates health insurers, IoT-based networks, and Blockchain technology to implement access control protocol using a smart contract for sharing the financial premium of insureds with the stakeholders as non-participants/authorized parties. The evaluation of the proposal results in authorized access within less time compared to traditional data-sharing systems, and the security analysis shows that proposal can protect data from potential threats. Index Terms— IoT, Blockchain, health insurance, insurer, Smart Contract, PBFT.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FACTORS AFFECTING CUSTOMERS’ PARTICIPATION INTENTION AND CUSTOMERS’ PARTICIPATION DECISION TOWARDS LIFE-INSURANCE IN HO CHI MINH CITY

As developed living conditions, people always expect to improve their quality of life, ensure safety against unforeseen risks. Life insurance (BHNT) were formed to help overcome risks and losses occurring in life. It’s truly obvious that life insurance provides individuals, families and society with a lot of benefits. Accordingly, this study was designed to propose and test the factors affecting customers’ participation intention towards life-insurance, and the effect of participation intention to participation decision. These relationships are verified through 150 customers who are holders of individual insurance policies. Cronbach’s Alpha and Confirming factor analysis (CFA) tests were applied to examine the reliability and validity of the scale. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was also adopted to test the hypotheses. The finding shows that the insurance agents, Brand image, Participation motivation, Social influences have positive effect on participation intention. Participation intention also positively impacts on participation decision of life insurance. As the result, some implications are discussed, and the next research direction is proposed.

Russian Citizens' Attitude toward Insurance Policies as a Factor of Individual Economic Security.

Today, insurance enables the functioning of the market system. In modern Russia, such a mechanism of protection against internal and external threats exists to ensure the economic security of each citizen. Indeed, individual insurance policies continue to gain importance as the most effective risk management tool to guarantee the safety of the health and property of private citizens. The goal of this study was to investigate Russian citizens’ attitudes towards insurance policies and investment bearing in mind the concept of personal economic security. Preparations for this study were focused on theoretical understandings of economic security problems, taking the field of insurance as an example. Our research consisted of four stages, with a total of 1794 participants. The results of this study can offer insight to improve the functioning of the insurance market in accordance with the framework of the Insurance Industry Development Strategy for the Russian Federation—2020. The obtained results can be used from both a political and economic standpoint in the development of a set of measures dealing with the control of financial institutions, promotion of financial literacy, preparation of courses for universities, and trainings for participants in the insurance market. Policyholders can also use this information to advocate for improved insurance programs for citizens.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The Alexander v. Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company Opinion and Other Consequences of Being Generous Under ERISA

A recent case from a federal district court in Tennessee reminds employers that they should familiarize themselves with the basic tenets of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) before providing welfare benefits to their employees. In that case, the employer unknowingly created an ERISA plan just by allowing its employees to buy individual insurance policies and obtain a group discount that they would not have received but for the employment relationship. Unknowingly creating an ERISA plan thus exposed that employer to a host of ERISA issues, including reporting and disclosure requirements, fiduciary responsibilities, and monetary penalties for violating those requirements and responsibilities.

Healthcare Reform: Obama vs McCain

Healthcare Reform: Obama vs McCain

The Need for an Organized Approach for Government Medical Insurance Programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia has a disorganized approach to enrolling their retired faculty in Medicare Supplement Insurance Programs. An organized approach to establishing Medicare Supplemental Insurance for retired University faculty should include the following administrative changes to correct this potential health-care crisis for retired state faculty members. First, the ombudsman for human resources for the state universities must receive educational programs that prepare the retired faculty members over the age of 65 to select the corporate insurance policy from Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance Company. Included in this educational program should be a review of the Advantage 65 Member Handbook. Second, they must point out to the faculty member that they are receiving a CORPORATE insurance policy rather than an individual insurance policy from Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance Company. They must provide the telephone numbers of the Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield offices in Roanoke, Virginia. Concomitantly, they must send the name and address of the faculty member to the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Human Resource Management. They should inform the faculty member that the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Human Resource Management will be sending them newsletters that outline any changes in the corporate insurance policy that they coordinate with the Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance Company. The Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Human Resource Management must take on some new responsibilities in their efforts to coordinate health-care coverage of the retired faculty over the age of 65. First, they must have a computer registry of all corporate health-care policies of the individual faculty members to ensure that newsletters are being sent to them. Ideally, this agency should have a computerized system that allows it to send out its newsletter update by email to those retired faculty members who have computers. They should urge the faculty members to initiate an automatic check payment withdrawal from their bank so that the premiums from their corporate insurance policy can be paid promptly to Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance Company. Whereas the universities and the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Human Resource Management are making these responsible changes, Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance Company must undertake innovative changes in their corporate health-care policy to assist the retired faculty member. For instance, they must list on the insurance card that the faculty member has a corporate policy. Like the United Health Insurance Company, it would be advisable to offer a 2-5% reduction in the cost of the corporate insurance policy if the faculty member begins an automatic premium payment agreement through their bank. This insurance discount would be an added incentive for the faculty member to do automatic payments through their bank.

An insurance policy: a case study of legal and economic interactions in a transforming economy

This article is a case study of an individual insurance policy issued under the centrally planned economy which matured after the beginning of economic transformation. The analysis is useful in understanding the much wider issue of problems arising with continuation of contractual relations in the changing economic and political environment in the post‐socialist countries. The article illustrates the burden of systemic risk with which every investment in transition economies (except perhaps Eastern Germany) is associated through the example of the individual case and solutions which could be applied to it. In the new economic conditions there was no place for unbalanced relations between firms and their customers. Together with the changes in the legal environment of business, this was the beginning of a game of interests between the beneficiary and the insurance entity, neither of which would accept responsibility for the burden of economic changes.

Does the Internet Make Markets More Competitive? Evidence from the Life Insurance Industry

The Internet may significantly reduce search costs by enabling price comparisons on‐line. This paper provides empirical evidence on how Internet comparison shopping sites affected the prices of life insurance in the 1990s. With micro data on individual insurance policies and with individual and policy characteristics controlled for, hedonic‐type regressions show that increases in Internet use significantly reduced the price of term life insurance. Further evidence shows that prices did not fall with rising Internet usage in the period before the sites began, nor for insurance types that were not covered on the sites. The results suggest that the growth of the Internet has reduced term life prices by 8–15 percent. The results also show that the initial introduction of the Internet search sites is initially associated with an increase in price dispersion within demographic groups, but as use spreads, the dispersion falls.

Drug Testing Balancing Privacy and Public Safety

Recent increases in the use of illegal drugs and problems related to that use have raised a variety of public health and safety concerns and have led many to propose testing as one of the best ways to combat the proliferation of use. Although my focus is testing for drugs, it is worth noting that similar calls for increased testing have arisen due to the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the threat it poses to those exposed to it. Clearly, these public health and safety concerns conflict with the privacy claims of those being targeted for testing. Nevertheless, many view the public safety threat as serious enough to override completely any individual privacy interests. Indeed, public opinion polls indicate that there is widespread support for a variety of testing programs, even those that are random and mandatory.[1] But it is misleading to view a public policy decision about when and how to conduct tests as a simple choice between privacy and public safety. What is less often mentioned is that the issues surrounding testing programs are far more complex than the foregoing suggests. It is both difficult and unwise to reach conclusions about whether testing programs are justified without specifying what type of testing is being proposed (e.g., blood, urine), what is being tested for (e.g., alcohol, drugs, HIV infection), who is initiating the tests (e.g., government agencies, employers, insurance companies), the goals of the tests and the likelihood that they will reduce or eradicate the problem, the harm that would result without die tests, the costs of the proposed testing program, the accuracy of the type of test under consideration, whether confirmatory tests will be added, whether the testing will be mandatory or voluntary, whether the tests will be random or will selectively target particular groups, whether an identifiable showing of suspicion or performance decline will prompt the tests, and how test results will be used and distributed. Furthermore, one must assess which goals of a particular drug-testing program are achievable, and must balance those against the consequences of the testing. The crucial question is to determine when that balance provides adequate moral justification for the testing. My aim is to address many of these issues by setting out the various arguments and constitutional considerations both in favor of and against certain testing programs. While it should be clear from the above list of concerns relating to and HIV tests that broad generalizations are difficult to make, I shall discuss how major public health and safety goals can be addressed seriously while still taking precautions to protect privacy vigorously. Drug abuse should not be tolerated in the workplace or when it threatens the safety of others. But care must be taken to limit the extent to which testing intrudes on people's privacy. The ideal is to use the technology selectively, with adequate moral justification, and with enough safeguards and precautions to ensure that testing is done thoughtfully and responsibly. Arguments in Favor of Drug Testing Both the government and private employers argue that they have a significant interest in testing citizens and employees for a wide variety of reasons: (1) to fight the drug war by weeding out users and curbing use; (2) to insure safety by revealing conditions that pose a serious threat to co-workers or the public; (3) to maintain an unimpaired and effective work force; (4) to identify those who will be unable to work in the future; (5) to reduce the costs of employee health care plans; and (6) to maintain public confidence in the integrity and trustworthiness of their operations. Insurers argue in addition that testing is necessary because it is fundamentally unfair to require relatively healthy policyholders to subsidize the costs of health care and life insurance benefits for those with high mortality risks, and because banning insurer testing might leave the industry financially unable to afford to offer individual insurance policies at all. …