Suppose the typical Florida resident has wealth of $500,000, of which his or her home is worth

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Suppose the typical Florida resident has wealth of $500,000, of which his or her home is worth $100,000. Unfortunately, Florida is infamous for its hurricanes, and it is believed there is a 10% chance of a hurricane that could totally destroy a house (a loss of $100,000). However, it is possible to retrofit the house with various protective devices (shutters, roof bolts, and so on) for a cost of $2,000. This reduces the 10% chance of a loss of $100,000 to a 5% chance of a loss of $50,000. The homeowner must decide whether to retrofit and thereby reduce the expected loss. The problem for an insurance company is that it does not know whether the retrofit will be installed and therefore cannot quote a premium conditioned on the policyholder choosing this action. Nevertheless, the insurance company offers the following two policies from which the homeowner can choose: (1) The premium for insurance covering total loss is $12,000 or (2) the premium for insurance covering only 50% of loss is $1,500. The typical homeowner has a utility function equal to the square root of wealth. Will the homeowner retrofit the house, and which insurance policy will the homeowner buy? Will the insurance company make a profit (on average) given the homeowner's choice?
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Managerial Economics Theory Applications and Cases

ISBN: 978-0393912777

8th edition

Authors: Bruce Allen, Keith Weigelt, Neil A. Doherty, Edwin Mansfield

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