Catastrophic Risk: Social Influences on Insurance Decisions [Dataset]

We study behavioral patterns of insurance demand for low-probability large-loss events (catastrophic losses). Individual patterns of belief formation and risk attitude that were suggested in the behavioral decisions literature emerge robustly in the current set of insurance choices. However, social comparison effects are less robust. We do not find any evidence for peer effects (through social loss aversion or imitation) on insurance take-up. In contrast, we find support for the prediction that people underweight others’ relevant information in their own decision making.

本研究针对低概率大损失事件（灾难性损失，catastrophic losses）下的保险需求行为模式展开探讨。行为决策领域已有文献提出的个体信念形成与风险偏好模式，在本次保险选择样本中得到了稳健的验证。然而，社会比较效应的稳健性相对较弱。我们未发现任何证据表明，通过社交损失厌恶或模仿渠道产生的同伴效应会对投保行为产生影响。与之相对，本研究支持“个体在决策过程中会低估他人相关信息权重”的理论预测。