Replication data for: (Over)insuring Modest Risks

Despite the large literature on anomalies in risky choice, very little research has explored the relevance of these insights in real insurance markets. This paper uses new data on consumers' choices of deductibles for home insurance to provide evidence that a surprising level of risk aversion over modest stakes is a reality in the market. Most customers purchase low deductibles despite costs significantly above the expected value. Fitting these choices to a standard model of risk aversion yields implausibly large measures of risk parameters. Potential explanations and the implications of these results for understanding the market for insurance are discussed. (JEL D14, D81, G21, G22)

尽管现有关于风险选择异象的研究文献已颇为丰富，但鲜有研究探讨这些核心洞见在真实保险市场中的适用性。本文采用消费者家庭财产保险免赔额选择的全新数据集，证实了保险市场中存在对小额风险标的表现出极高程度风险厌恶的现象：多数消费者即便需支付远高于期望价值的额外保费成本，仍选择低免赔额的保险方案。将此类选择行为与标准风险厌恶模型进行拟合后，得到的风险参数估计值大得不合常理。本文还讨论了该研究结果的潜在解释方向，以及其对理解保险市场的理论与实践启示。（JEL分类号：D14、D81、G21、G22）