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An Experiment on Rational Insurance Decisions

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  • Richard Watt
  • Francisco Vázquez
  • Ignacio Moreno

Abstract

We describe the results of an experiment on decision making in an insurance context. The experiment was designed to test for the underlying rationality of insurance consumers, where rationality is understood in usual economic terms. In particular, using expected utility as the preference function, we test for positive marginal utility, risk aversion, and decreasing absolute risk aversion, all of which are normal postulates for any microeconomic decision context under uncertainty or risk. We find that there the discrepancy from rational decision making increases with the sophistication of the rationality criteria, that irrationality concerning fair premium contracts is uncharacteristically high, and that the slope of absolute risk aversion seems to depend on the format of the insurance contract. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2001

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Watt & Francisco Vázquez & Ignacio Moreno, 2001. "An Experiment on Rational Insurance Decisions," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 247-296, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:theord:v:51:y:2001:i:2:p:247-296
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1015559127778
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gollier, Christian & Schlesinger, Harris, 1996. "Arrow's Theorem on the Optimality of Deductibles: A Stochastic Dominance Approach," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 7(2), pages 359-363, February.
    2. Sopher & Narramore, 2000. "Stochastic Choice and Consistency in Decision Making Under Risk: An Experimental Study," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 323-349, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ming Wang & Chuan Liao & Saini Yang & Weiting Zhao & Min Liu & Peijun Shi, 2012. "Are People Willing to Buy Natural Disaster Insurance in China? Risk Awareness, Insurance Acceptance, and Willingness to Pay," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(10), pages 1717-1740, October.
    2. Ranyard, Rob & McHugh, Sandie, 2012. "Defusing the risk of borrowing: The psychology of payment protection insurance decisions," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 738-748.
    3. Johannes G. Jaspersen, 2016. "Hypothetical Surveys And Experimental Studies Of Insurance Demand: A Review," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 83(1), pages 217-255, January.
    4. Moreno, Ignacio & Vázquez, Francisco J. & Watt, Richard, 2017. "Rationality and honesty of consumers in insurance decisions," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 36-46.
    5. Omar Al-Ubaydli & John A. List & Danielle LoRe & Dana Suskind, 2017. "Scaling for Economists: Lessons from the Non-Adherence Problem in the Medical Literature," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(4), pages 125-144, Fall.
    6. Pedro Brandão Graminha & Luís Eduardo Afonso, 2022. "Behavioral Economics and Auto Insurance: The Role of Biases and Heuristics," RAC - Revista de Administração Contemporânea (Journal of Contemporary Administration), ANPAD - Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Administração, vol. 26(5), pages 200421-2004.

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