Abigail is a consumer whose utility is a function of her total wealth W. u(W ) = log W. Suppose that Abigail begins with initial wealth of A = 100 but will suffer a serious illness with probability π = 0.15 which will require extensive treatment costing L = 80. To hedge against this risk, Abigail considers buying a health insurance policy. She may buy as much insurance I as she wishes at a cost of p per dollar of coverage, so her payoffs in each state are Healthy Ill Probability 0.85 0.15 No Insurance 100 20 Claim 0 I Premium −pI −pI a) Now suppose that the insurance company raises premiums to p = 0.2 so that they are no longer actuarially fair. Find Abigail’s expected wealth E[W ] and expected utility E[u(W )]. b) How much insurance should Abigail buy now?
Abigail is a consumer whose utility is a function of her total wealth W. u(W ) = log W. Suppose that Abigail begins with initial wealth of A = 100 but will suffer a serious illness with probability π = 0.15 which will require extensive treatment costing L = 80. To hedge against this risk, Abigail considers buying a health insurance policy. She may buy as much insurance I as she wishes at a cost of p per dollar of coverage, so her payoffs in each state are Healthy Ill Probability 0.85 0.15 No Insurance 100 20 Claim 0 I Premium −pI −pI a) Now suppose that the insurance company raises premiums to p = 0.2 so that they are no longer actuarially fair. Find Abigail’s expected wealth E[W ] and expected utility E[u(W )]. b) How much insurance should Abigail buy now?
Chapter1: Making Economics Decisions
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1QTC
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- Abigail is a consumer whose utility is a function of her total wealth W.
u(W ) = log W.
Suppose that Abigail begins with initial wealth of A = 100 but will suffer a serious illness with probability π = 0.15 which will require extensive treatment costing L = 80. To hedge against this risk, Abigail considers buying a health insurance policy. She may buy as much insurance I as she wishes at a cost of p per dollar of coverage, so her payoffs in each state are
|
|
Healthy |
Ill |
|
Probability |
0.85 |
0.15 |
|
No Insurance |
100 |
20 |
|
Claim |
0 |
I |
|
Premium |
−pI |
−pI |
a) Now suppose that the insurance company raises premiums to p = 0.2 so that they are no longer actuarially fair. Find Abigail’s expected wealth E[W ] and expected utility E[u(W )].
b) How much insurance should Abigail buy now?
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