IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/rmgtin/v14y2011i2p233-246.html

An Analysis of the Demand for Earthquake Insurance

Author

Listed:
  • Manoj Athavale
  • Stephen M. Avila

Abstract

This research examines the decision to purchase earthquake insurance by analyzing data on earthquake insurance price and penetration in the New Madrid fault zone in Missouri. Earthquake risk is of concern to consumers, the insurance industry, industry regulators, and government agencies because of the potentially catastrophic nature of losses resulting from a major earthquake. Despite the significance of the earthquake peril, the recent literature does not contain estimates of the price and income elasticity of the demand for earthquake insurance. Our analysis indicates that homeowners acquire earthquake insurance because of risk considerations, at higher levels of risk the demand for earthquake insurance is higher, and the price of earthquake coverage does not provide incremental information in explaining the demand for earthquake coverage.

Suggested Citation

  • Manoj Athavale & Stephen M. Avila, 2011. "An Analysis of the Demand for Earthquake Insurance," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 14(2), pages 233-246, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:rmgtin:v:14:y:2011:i:2:p:233-246
    DOI: j.1540-6296.2011.01205.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6296.2011.01205.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/j.1540-6296.2011.01205.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. MOSSIN, Jan, 1968. "Aspects of rational insurance purchasing," LIDAM Reprints CORE 23, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    2. Martin F. Grace & Robert W. Klein, 2009. "The Perfect Storm: Hurricanes, Insurance, and Regulation," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 12(1), pages 81-124, March.
    3. Risa Palm, 1999. "Perceived risk and the earthquake insurance purchase decision: a commentary on a paper by Lennart Sjöberg," Journal of Risk Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(4), pages 289-294, October.
    4. Blackmon, B Glenn, Jr & Zeckhauser, Richard, 1991. "Mispriced Equity: Regulated Rates for Auto Insurance in Massachusetts," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(2), pages 65-69, May.
    5. Barry J. Barnett & Jerry R. Skees, 1995. "Region and Crop Specific Models of the Demand for Federal Crop Insurance," Journal of Insurance Issues, Western Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 18(2), pages 47-65.
    6. K. Goda & H. P. Hong, 2008. "Implied Preference for Seismic Design Level and Earthquake Insurance," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 523-537, April.
    7. Browne, Mark J & Hoyt, Robert E, 2000. "The Demand for Flood Insurance: Empirical Evidence," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 291-306, May.
    8. Martin F. Grace & Robert W. Klein & Paul R. Kleindorfer, 2004. "Homeowners Insurance With Bundled Catastrophe Coverage," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 71(3), pages 351-379, September.
    9. Yasuyuki Sawada & Satoshi Shimizutani, 2008. "How Do People Cope with Natural Disasters? Evidence from the Great Hanshin‐Awaji (Kobe) Earthquake in 1995," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(2‐3), pages 463-488, March.
    10. Hogarth, Robin M & Kunreuther, Howard, 1985. "Ambiguity and Insurance Decisions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(2), pages 386-390, May.
    11. Dan R. Anderson & Maurice Weinrobe, 1986. "Mortgage Default Risks and the 1971 San Fernando Earthquake," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 14(1), pages 110-135, March.
    12. Jackson, William E, III, 1992. "Is the Market Well Defined in Bank Merger and Acquisition Analysis?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 74(4), pages 655-661, November.
    13. Howard Kunreuther & Mark Pauly, 2004. "Neglecting Disaster: Why Don't People Insure Against Large Losses?," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 5-21, January.
    14. Cummins, J. David & Doherty, Neil & Lo, Anita, 2002. "Can insurers pay for the "big one"? Measuring the capacity of the insurance market to respond to catastrophic losses," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(2-3), pages 557-583, March.
    15. Marquis, M. Susan & Long, Stephen H., 1995. "Worker demand for health insurance in the non-group market," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 47-63, May.
    16. James C. Murdoch & Harinder Singh & Mark Thayer, 1993. "The Impact of Natural Hazards on Housing Values: The Loma Prieta Earthquake," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 21(2), pages 167-184, June.
    17. Babbel, David F, 1985. "The Price Elasticity of Demand for Whole Life Insurance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 40(1), pages 225-239, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xiao Lin, 2020. "Feeling Is Believing? Evidence From Earthquake Shaking Experience and Insurance Demand," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 87(2), pages 351-380, June.
    2. Kalfin & Sukono & Sudradjat Supian & Mustafa Mamat, 2022. "Insurance as an Alternative for Sustainable Economic Recovery after Natural Disasters: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-18, April.
    3. Stavros Niforatos & Demosthenes Panagiotakos & Pavlos-Marinos Delladetsimas, 2024. "Socio-demographic determinants of earthquake risk perception: the case of the Corinthiakos Gulf, in Greece," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 120(4), pages 3847-3864, March.
    4. Chun Ping Chang & Aziz N Berdiev, 2013. "Natural Disasters, Political Risk and Insurance Market Development," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 38(3), pages 406-448, July.
    5. Ding, Jinxiu & Yu, Chin-Hsien & Shaw, William D., "undated". "Risk Perception and Agricultural Insurance Acceptance: Evidence from Typhoon Meranti in Fujian, China," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274464, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Chun-Min Zhang, 2020. "Seismic risk-coping behavior in rural ethnic minority communities in Dali, China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 103(3), pages 3499-3522, September.
    7. Cristina CIUMAS & Ramona Alexandrina COCA, 2015. "An Analysis Of The Factors Influencing The Demand For Catastrophe Insurance," Journal of Public Administration, Finance and Law, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 0(Special i), pages 69-78, September.
    8. Ling Tian & Peng Yao, 2015. "Preferences for earthquake insurance in rural China: factors influencing individuals’ willingness to pay," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 79(1), pages 93-110, October.
    9. Amanda Savitt, 2017. "Insurance as a tool for hazard risk management? An evaluation of the literature," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 86(2), pages 583-599, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Franz Sinabell & Thomas Url, 2006. "Versicherungen als effizientes Mittel zur Risikotragung von Naturgefahren," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 28181.
    2. Céline Grislain-Letrémy, 2018. "Natural Disasters: Exposure and Underinsurance," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 129, pages 53-83.
    3. Mankaï, Selim & Marchand, Sébastien & Le, Ngoc Ha, 2024. "Valuing insurance against small probability risks: A meta-analysis," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    4. Peter John Robinson & W. J. Wouter Botzen & Fujin Zhou, 2021. "An experimental study of charity hazard: The effect of risky and ambiguous government compensation on flood insurance demand," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 275-318, December.
    5. Craig E. Landry & Mohammad R. Jahan‐Parvar, 2011. "Flood Insurance Coverage in the Coastal Zone," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 78(2), pages 361-388, June.
    6. Erwann Michel-Kerjan & Paul Raschky & Howard Kunreuther, 2015. "Corporate Demand for Insurance: New Evidence From the U.S. Terrorism and Property Markets," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 82(3), pages 505-530, September.
    7. Vijay Aseervatham & Patricia Born & Dominik Lohmaier & Andreas Richter, 2017. "Hazard-Specific Supply Reactions in the Aftermath of Natural Disasters," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 42(2), pages 193-225, April.
    8. Paul Raschky & Reimund Schwarze & Manijeh Schwindt & Ferdinand Zahn, 2013. "Uncertainty of Governmental Relief and the Crowding out of Flood Insurance," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 54(2), pages 179-200, February.
    9. Helmut Gründl & Danjela Guxha & Anastasia Kartasheva & Hato Schmeiser, 2021. "Insurability of pandemic risks," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 88(4), pages 863-902, December.
    10. repec:dau:papers:123456789/13276 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Amanda Savitt, 2017. "Insurance as a tool for hazard risk management? An evaluation of the literature," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 86(2), pages 583-599, March.
    12. Marielle Brunette & Stephane Couture, 2007. "Effects of Public Compensation for Disaster Damages on Private Insurance and Forest Management Decisions," Working Papers - Cahiers du LEF 2007-06, Laboratoire d'Economie Forestiere, AgroParisTech-INRA.
    13. James M. Carson & Kathleen A. McCullough & David M. Pooser, 2013. "Deciding Whether to Invest in Mitigation Measures: Evidence From Florida," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 80(2), pages 309-327, June.
    14. Howard Kunreuther & Erwann Michel-Kerjan, 2015. "Demand for fixed-price multi-year contracts: Experimental evidence from insurance decisions," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 171-194, October.
    15. Marielle Brunette & Laure Cabantous & Stéphane Couture & Anne Stenger, 2013. "The impact of governmental assistance on insurance demand under ambiguity: a theoretical model and an experimental test," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 75(2), pages 153-174, August.
    16. Robert W. Klein & Harold Weston, 2020. "Government insurance for business interruption losses from pandemics: An evaluation of its feasibility and possible frameworks," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 23(4), pages 401-440, December.
    17. Lorilee A. Medders & Charles M. Nyce & J. Bradley Karl, 2014. "Market Implications of Public Policy Interventions: The Case of Florida's Property Insurance Market," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 17(2), pages 183-214, September.
    18. Marc A. Ragin & Benjamin L. Collier & Johannes G. Jaspersen, 2021. "The effect of information disclosure on demand for high‐load insurance," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 88(1), pages 161-193, March.
    19. Théodora Dupont-Courtade, 2012. "Insurance demand under ambiguity and conflict for extreme risks: Evidence from a large representative survey," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 12020, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    20. Andreas Richter & Jochen Ruß & Stefan Schelling, 2019. "Insurance customer behavior: Lessons from behavioral economics," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 22(2), pages 183-205, July.
    21. Mahmud, Sakib & Hassan, Gazi, 2014. "Consequences of Public Programs and Private Transfers on Household’s Investment in Storm Protection," MPRA Paper 60004, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:rmgtin:v:14:y:2011:i:2:p:233-246. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1098-1616 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.