Centro de Documentacion de Fundación MAPFRE - The Role of agents and brokers in the market for Health lnsurance

MAP20180009983

The Role of agents and brokers in the market for Health lnsurance / Pinar Karaca-Mandic, Roger Feldman, Peter Graven

Sumario: Health insurance markets in the United States are characterized by imperfect information, complex products, and substantial search frictions. Insurance agents and brokers play a significant role in helping employers navigate these problems. However, little is known about the relations between the structure of the agent/broker market and access and affordability of insurance. This article aims to fill this gap by investigating the influence of agents/brokers on health insurance offering decisions of small firms, which are particularly vulnerable to problems of financing health insurance. Using a unique membership database from the National Association of Health Underwriters together with a nationally representative survey of employers, we find that small firms in more competitive agent/broker markets are more likely to offer health insurance and at lower premiums. Moreover, premiums are less dispersed in more competitive agent/broker markets

En: The Journal of risk and insurance. - Nueva York : The American Risk and Insurance Association, 1964- = ISSN 0022-4367. - 01/03/2018 Volumen 85 Número 1 - marzo 2018 , p. 7-34

1. Mercado de seguros . 2. Seguro de salud . 3. Seguro de vida . 4. Seguro de asistencia sanitaria . 5. Intermediarios . 6. Agentes de seguros . 7. Corredores de seguros . 8. Distribución de seguros . 9. Estados Unidos . I. Feldman, Roger . II. Graven, Peter . III. Título.