IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/red/sed011/188.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Why Do Life Insurance Policyholders Lapse? The Roles of Income, Health and Bequest Motive Shocks

Author

Listed:
  • Edward Kung

    (Duke University)

  • Hanming Fang

    (University of Pennsylvania)

Abstract

We present an empirical dynamic discrete choice model of life insurance decisions designed to bypass data limitations where researchers only observe whether an individual has made a new life insurance decision but but do not observe the actual policy choice or the choice set from which the policy is selected. The model also incorporates serially correlated unobservable state variables, for which we provide ample evidence that they are required to explain some key features in the data. We empirically implement the model using the limited life insurance holding information from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data. We deal with serially correlated unobserved state variables using posterior distributions of the unobservables simulated from Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) methods. Counterfactual simulations using the estimates of our model suggest that a large fraction of life insurance lapsations are driven by i.i.d choice specific shocks, particularly when policyholders are relatively young. But as the remaining policyholders get older, the role of such i.i.d. shocks gets less important, and more of their lapsations are driven either by income, health or bequest motive shocks. Income and health shocks are relatively more important than bequest motive shocks in explaining lapsations when policyholders are young, but as they age, the bequest motive shocks play a more important role.

Suggested Citation

  • Edward Kung & Hanming Fang, 2011. "Why Do Life Insurance Policyholders Lapse? The Roles of Income, Health and Bequest Motive Shocks," 2011 Meeting Papers 188, Society for Economic Dynamics.
  • Handle: RePEc:red:sed011:188
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://red-files-public.s3.amazonaws.com/meetpapers/2011/paper_188.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jesús Fernández-Villaverde & Juan F. Rubio-Ramírez, 2007. "Estimating Macroeconomic Models: A Likelihood Approach," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 74(4), pages 1059-1087.
    2. Heckman, James & Singer, Burton, 1984. "A Method for Minimizing the Impact of Distributional Assumptions in Econometric Models for Duration Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(2), pages 271-320, March.
    3. Jeremy T. Fox, 2007. "Semiparametric estimation of multinomial discrete-choice models using a subset of choices," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 38(4), pages 1002-1019, December.
    4. Hu, Yingyao & Shum, Matthew, 2012. "Nonparametric identification of dynamic models with unobserved state variables," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 171(1), pages 32-44.
    5. Igal Hendel & Alessandro Lizzeri, 2003. "The Role of Commitment in Dynamic Contracts: Evidence from Life Insurance," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(1), pages 299-328.
    6. Keane, Michael P & Wolpin, Kenneth I, 1994. "The Solution and Estimation of Discrete Choice Dynamic Programming Models by Simulation and Interpolation: Monte Carlo Evidence," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(4), pages 648-672, November.
    7. He, Daifeng, 2009. "The life insurance market: Asymmetric information revisited," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(9-10), pages 1090-1097, October.
    8. Hanming Fang & Edward Kung, 2020. "Life Insurance and Life Settlements: The Case for Health‐Contingent Cash Surrender Values," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 87(1), pages 7-39, March.
    9. Jason R. Blevins, 2016. "Sequential Monte Carlo Methods for Estimating Dynamic Microeconomic Models," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(5), pages 773-804, August.
    10. Stephen Fier & Andre Liebenberg, 2013. "Life Insurance Lapse Behavior," North American Actuarial Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 153-167.
    11. Olsson, Jimmy & Rydén, Tobias, 2008. "Asymptotic properties of particle filter-based maximum likelihood estimators for state space models," Stochastic Processes and their Applications, Elsevier, vol. 118(4), pages 649-680, April.
    12. Fang, Hanming & Wu, Zenan, 2020. "Life insurance and life settlement markets with overconfident policyholders," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    13. Tomas Philipson & John Cawley, 1999. "An Empirical Examination of Information Barriers to Trade in Insurance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(4), pages 827-846, September.
    14. Hanming Fang & Edward Kung, 2010. "How Does Life Settlement Affect the Primary Life Insurance Market?," NBER Working Papers 15761, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Gallant, A. Ronald & Hong, Han & Khwaja, Ahmed, 2018. "A Bayesian approach to estimation of dynamic models with small and large number of heterogeneous players and latent serially correlated states," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 203(1), pages 19-32.
    16. Glenn Daily & Igal Hendel & Alessandro Lizzeri, 2008. "Does the Secondary Life Insurance Market Threaten Dynamic Insurance?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 151-156, May.
    17. Hiroyuki Kasahara & Katsumi Shimotsu, 2009. "Nonparametric Identification of Finite Mixture Models of Dynamic Discrete Choices," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(1), pages 135-175, January.
    18. Andriy Norets, 2009. "Inference in Dynamic Discrete Choice Models With Serially orrelated Unobserved State Variables," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(5), pages 1665-1682, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Steven T Berry & Giovanni Compiani, 2023. "An Instrumental Variable Approach to Dynamic Models," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(4), pages 1724-1758.
    2. Michael Hoy & Afrasiab Mirza & Asha Sadanand, 2021. "Guaranteed renewable life insurance under demand uncertainty," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 88(1), pages 131-159, March.
    3. Hu Yingyao & Shum Matthew & Tan Wei & Xiao Ruli, 2017. "A Simple Estimator for Dynamic Models with Serially Correlated Unobservables," Journal of Econometric Methods, De Gruyter, vol. 6(1), pages 1-16, January.
    4. Fang, Hanming & Wu, Zenan, 2020. "Life insurance and life settlement markets with overconfident policyholders," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    5. Kung, Ko-Lun & Hsieh, Ming-Hua & Peng, Jin-Lung & Tsai, Chenghsien Jason & Wang, Jennifer L., 2021. "Explaining the risk premiums of life settlements," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    6. Hu, Yingyao & Shum, Matthew, 2012. "Nonparametric identification of dynamic models with unobserved state variables," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 171(1), pages 32-44.
    7. Fang, H., 2016. "Insurance Markets for the Elderly," Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, in: Piggott, John & Woodland, Alan (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 237-309, Elsevier.
    8. Jason R. Blevins & Ahmed Khwaja & Nathan Yang, 2018. "Firm Expansion, Size Spillovers, and Market Dominance in Retail Chain Dynamics," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(9), pages 4070-4093.
    9. Daniel Bauer & Jochen Russ & Nan Zhu, 2020. "Asymmetric information in secondary insurance markets: Evidence from the life settlements market," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 11(3), pages 1143-1175, July.
    10. Peter Arcidiacono & Robert A. Miller, 2011. "Conditional Choice Probability Estimation of Dynamic Discrete Choice Models With Unobserved Heterogeneity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 79(6), pages 1823-1867, November.
    11. Mira Frick & Ryota Iijima & Tomasz Strzalecki, 2019. "Dynamic Random Utility," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 87(6), pages 1941-2002, November.
    12. Kalouptsidi, Myrto & Scott, Paul & Souza-Rodrigues, Edouardo, 2015. "Identification of Counterfactuals and Payoffs in Dynamic Discrete Choice with an Application to Land Use," TSE Working Papers 15-596, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    13. Hu, Yingyao, 2017. "The Econometrics of Unobservables -- Latent Variable and Measurement Error Models and Their Applications in Empirical Industrial Organization and Labor Economics [The Econometrics of Unobservables]," Economics Working Paper Archive 64578, The Johns Hopkins University,Department of Economics, revised 2021.
    14. Aguirregabiria, Victor & Mira, Pedro, 2010. "Dynamic discrete choice structural models: A survey," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 156(1), pages 38-67, May.
    15. Radoslaw Paluszynski & Pei Cheng Yu, 2023. "Commitment versus Flexibility and Sticky Prices: Evidence from Life Insurance," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 49, pages 99-122, July.
    16. Ciprian MatiÅŸ & Eugenia MatiÅŸ, 2013. "Asymmetric Information In Insurance Field: Some General Considerations," Annales Universitatis Apulensis Series Oeconomica, Faculty of Sciences, "1 Decembrie 1918" University, Alba Iulia, vol. 1(15), pages 1-17.
    17. Juan Pablo Atal & Hanming Fang & Martin Karlsson & Nicolas R. Ziebarth, 2020. "Long-Term Health Insurance: Theory Meets Evidence," PIER Working Paper Archive 20-009, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    18. Amelie C. Wuppermann, 2017. "Private Information in Life Insurance, Annuity, and Health Insurance Markets," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 119(4), pages 855-881, October.
    19. Khai Xiang Chiong & Alfred Galichon & Matt Shum, 2016. "Duality in dynamic discrete‐choice models," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 7(1), pages 83-115, March.
    20. James M. Carson & Cameron M. Ellis & Robert E. Hoyt & Krzysztof Ostaszewski, 2020. "Sunk Costs and Screening: Two‐Part Tariffs in Life Insurance," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 87(3), pages 689-718, September.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G22 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms

    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:red:sed011:188. 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: Christian Zimmermann (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/sedddea.html .

    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.