• Media type: E-Book
  • Title: Did the 1918–19 Influenza Pandemic kill the U.S. Life Insurance Industry?
  • Contributor: Cortes, Gustavo [Author]; Verdickt, Gertjan [Author]
  • Published: [S.l.]: SSRN, [2021]
  • Extent: 1 Online-Ressource (29 p)
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3913593
  • Identifier:
  • Origination:
  • Footnote: Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments August 29, 2021 erstellt
  • Description: No. We document two empirical facts for the U.S. life insurance sector during the 1918–19 Influenza pandemic. First, we find no significant differences among U.S. insurers’ profitability after 1918. Second, there were fewer insurers in distress after the pandemic outbreak. Using synthetic control methods, we argue that the demand increase for new life insurance policies mitigated financial difficulties for insurers. While catastrophic from a public health perspective, the pandemic was a “blessing in disguise” for the insurance industry
  • Access State: Open Access