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Who Responds to Tax Reforms? Evidence from the Life Insurance Market

Author

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  • Carolin Hecht

    (FX Strategy Research, Commerzbank AG, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.)

  • Katja Hanewald

    (School of Actuarial Studies, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.)

Abstract

We exploit the natural experiment of the 2005 income tax reform in Germany to study the effects of tax incentives on consumer behaviour in life insurance markets. Our empirical analysis of sociodemographic, economic and psychological household characteristics elicited in the German SAVE study shows that two very different consumer groups buy (endowment) life insurance before and after the tax reform. We find that education plays a central role in reactions to the modified tax environment. Our stylised characterisation of “arbitrageur” and “straggler” buyers will assist both life insurance firms and regulatory authorities in designing effective policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Carolin Hecht & Katja Hanewald, 2012. "Who Responds to Tax Reforms? Evidence from the Life Insurance Market," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 37(1), pages 5-26, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:gpprii:v:37:y:2012:i:1:p:5-26
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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas Url, 2014. "Vorteile der Risikoübernahme in der klassischen Lebensversicherung," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 60603, April.
    2. Rajat Deb & Kanchan Kumar Nath & Mukesh Nepal & Sourav Chakraborty & Kiran Sankar Chakraborty, 2021. "Do People Choose Life Insurance for Protection or for Saving?," Metamorphosis: A Journal of Management Research, , vol. 20(1), pages 35-44, June.

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