Financial Markets and Institutions, 8e (Mishkin)
Chapter 21 Insurance Companies and Pension Funds
21.1 Multiple Choice
1) The earliest form of insurance was ________ insurance.
A) life
B) health
C) automobile
D) property and casualty
2) The certainty equivalent for risk-averse people who buy insurance is the
A) maximum loss they may sustain.
B) expected loss they may sustain.
C) insurance premium they pay.
D) profit the insurance company earns.
3) The problem of ________ occurs when those most likely to get large insurance payoffs are the
ones who want to purchase insurance the most.
A) asymmetric information
B) moral hazard
C) adverse selection
D) fraudulent behavior
4) When those most likely to produce the outcome insured against are the ones who purchase
insurance, insurance companies are said to face the problem of ________.
A) fraudulent claims
B) moral hazard
C) adverse selection
D) pecuniary purchases
5) To prevent adverse selection, health and life insurance companies may do all the following
except
A) charge higher premiums to people with certain preexisting health conditions.
B) require potential policyholders to submit medical records.
C) refuse to sell policies to people with certain pre-existing health conditions.
D) charge the same premiums to all policyholders.
6) In the case of an insurance policy, ________ occurs when the existence of insurance
encourages the insured party to take risks that increase the likelihood of an insurance payoff.
A) moral hazard
B) opportunism
C) adverse selection
D) shirking
7) Some automobile owners will drive faster knowing that they are covered by health and
automobile insurance. This behavior creates the problem of ________.
A) fraudulent claims
B) moral hazard
C) adverse selection
D) pecuniary purchases
8) In the case of an insurance policy, ________ occurs when the existence of insurance
encourages the insured party to take risks that increase the likelihood of an insurance payoff;
________ occurs when those most likely to get large insurance payoffs are the ones who want to
purchase insurance the most.
A) moral hazard; insurance market discrimination
B) moral hazard; insurance segregation
C) moral hazard; adverse selection
D) adverse selection; moral hazard
9) To prevent the moral hazard problem, health and life insurance companies may write policies
A) for which premiums increase dramatically once the policyholder is discovered to have
contracted an illness.
B) containing provisions which either reduce or eliminate benefits to persons who contract
prespecified illnesses.
C) limiting the amount the companies will pay in the event that claims are submitted by
policyholders.
D) with all of the above provisions.
E) with only A and B of the above provisions.
10) To prevent the moral hazard problem, health and life insurance companies may write policies
A) that increase benefits dramatically once the policyholder is discovered to have contracted an
illness so that the patient can recover sooner.
B) containing provisions which either reduce or eliminate benefits to persons who contract
prespecified illnesses.
C) boosting the amount the companies will pay health providers in the event that claims are
submitted by policyholders.
D) with only A and B of the above provisions.
11) Insurance management tools that give policyholders incentives to avoid accidents insured
against include ________.
A) deductibles
B) risk-based premiums
C) coinsurance
D) all of the above
12) Which is not a management practice for reducing the problems of adverse selection and
moral hazard in insurance?
A) Deductibles
B) Restrictive provisions
C) Coinsurance
D) Reinsurance
13) Insurance companies employ underwriters
A) as an alternative to higher deductibles.
B) to control the risky behavior of their policyholders.
C) to control the risk incurred on their behalf by agents.
D) to encourage the loyalty of exclusive agents.
E) to maintain the independence of independent agents.
14) ________ companies get a tax advantage; most new insurance companies organize as
________ companies.
A) Mutual insurance; mutual insurance
B) Mutual insurance; stock
C) Stock; stock
D) Stock; mutual insurance
15) (I) A majority of life insurance companies are organized as mutual companies.
(II) State governments have the major responsibility for regulating insurance companies.
A) (I) is true, (II) false.
B) (I) is false, (II) true.
C) Both are true.
D) Both are false.
16) Which of the following do not help people during their retirement?
A) Term life insurance
B) Annuity
C) Whole life insurance
D) Universal life insurance
17) A term life insurance policy provides
A) insurance benefits only.
B) savings benefits only.
C) both insurance and savings benefits.
D) none of the above.
18) Which of the following types of life insurance provides no savings element?
A) Term
B) Whole
C) Universal
D) None of the above
19) Which of the following is true of life insurance companies?
A) They primarily hold long-term assets that are not particularly liquid.
B) They primarily hold short-term liquid assets.
C) Payouts to policyholders are relatively predictable.
D) Both A and C of the above are true.
20) Of the following financial intermediaries, which holds the least liquid assets?
A) Property and casualty insurance companies
B) Life insurance companies
C) Money market mutual funds
D) Commercial banks
21) Relative to life insurance companies, property and casualty insurance companies hold
A) more liquid assets.
B) more long-term government bonds.
C) more commercial mortgages.
D) fewer municipal bonds.
22) The largest share of life insurance companies’ assets are ________.
A) corporate stock
B) corporate bonds
C) government securities
D) cash reserves
23) The federal regulatory agency responsible for regulating the activities of life insurance
companies is
A) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
B) the Federal Reserve.
C) the Federal Life Insurance Board.
D) none of the above; there is no such federal regulatory agency.
24) Which of the following is not a feature of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002?
A) Losses that exceed $100 billion are not covered.
B) The law does not apply to acts of international terrorism when losses are less than $5 million.
C) Government pays 50 percent of losses in excess of $100 billion.
D) Government pays 90 percent of the losses.
25) Insurance companies’ attempts to minimize adverse selection and moral hazard explain
which of the following insurance practices?
A) Risk-assessment screening
B) Risk-based premiums
C) Restrictive provisions
D) All of the above
E) Only A and B of the above
26) Insurance companies’ attempts to minimize adverse selection and moral hazard explain
which of the following insurance practices?
A) Requiring collateral for policies
B) Risk-based premiums
C) Compensating balances
D) All of the above
E) Only A and B of the above
27) Insurance companies’ attempts to minimize adverse selection and moral hazard explain
which of the following insurance practices?
A) Gender-neutral premiums
B) Flat-rate premiums
C) Restrictive provisions
D) All of the above
E) Only A and B of the above
28) Insurance companies’ attempts to minimize adverse selection and moral hazard explain
which of the following insurance practices?
A) Collection of information and screening of potential policyholders
B) Risk-based premiums
C) Cancellation of insurance
D) All of the above
29) Insurance companies’ attempts to minimize adverse selection and moral hazard explain
which of the following insurance practices?
A) Collection of information and screening of potential policyholders
B) Risk-based premiums
C) Deductibles and coinsurance
D) All of the above
E) Only A and B of the above
30) If automobile insurance companies were prevented from charging risk-based premiums, but
could selectively screen potential policyholders, the likely effect would be to
A) increase the number of young men obtaining insurance coverage relative to young women.
B) decrease the number of young women obtaining insurance coverage relative to young men.
C) decrease the number of young men obtaining insurance coverage relative to young women.
D) do both A and B of the above.
31) The fact that insurance companies charge young males higher automobile insurance
premiums than young females is an example of
A) risk-based premiums.
B) an attempt to minimize adverse selection.
C) coinsurance.
D) all of the above.
E) only A and B of the above.
32) Insurance management tools that give policyholders incentives to avoid accidents insured
against include ________.
A) deductibles
B) risk-based premiums
C) coinsurance
D) all of the above
33) Clauses in life insurance policies that eliminate death benefits if the insured person commits
suicide are an example of a ________.
A) restrictive provision
B) restrictive covenant
C) anti-fraud exclusion
D) risk-based deductible
34) The fastest growing financial intermediary is ________.
A) commercial banks
B) pension plans
C) life insurance companies
D) mutual funds
35) Which of the following has not contributed to the growth of pension plans?
A) Privatization of Social Security
B) Urbanization
C) Retirement at earlier ages
D) Increases in life expectancy
36) A company’s pension plan promises employees a specific amount of income when they
retire. However, the plan does not have the assets to meet these future obligations to employees.
This plan represents a defined-________ plan that is ________.
A) benefit; underfunded
B) benefit; overfunded
C) contribution; underfunded
D) contribution; overfunded
37) Social Security is a
A) fully funded pension plan.
B) federally insured private pension plan.
C) government sponsored private pension plan.
D) “pay-as-you-go” system.
38) The Social Security system is an example of a public pension plan that is ________.
A) underfunded
B) fully funded
C) overfunded
D) none of the above
39) Which of the following statements regarding the funding of Social Security is false?
A) In 2010, workers contributed 6.2% of their wages up to a maximum of $106,800.
B) Employers contribute an amount equal to the workers’ contributions.
C) Interest, dividend, rent, and royalty income are also taxed to provide supplemental funds for
Social Security.
D) Contributions exceeding the amounts paid to current Social Security recipients are invested in
Treasury bonds to build up a Social Security trust fund.
40) Which of the following is not a proposal for insuring that sufficient funds will be available to
provide Social Security benefits to future retirees?
A) Raise the maximum income cap on which workers and employers are taxed.
B) Provide more generous annual cost of living increases.
C) Raise the minimum age for receiving benefits.
D) Reduce the amount of future benefits.
41) Which proposal for insuring that sufficient funds will be available to provide Social Security
benefits to future retirees does the AARP find least objectionable?
A) Raise the maximum income cap on which workers and employers are taxed.
B) Provide more generous annual cost of living increases.
C) Privatize Social Security.
D) Lower immigration restrictions to increase the number of workers paying into the Social
Security system.
42) Privatization of Social Security
A) would transform the program from an unfunded pay-as-you-go system to a fully funded
pension plan.
B) would mean that workers’ current contributions to Social Security would no longer be
available to pay benefits to current retirees.
C) receives less public support when the stock market declines.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
43) Fraudulent practices and other abuses of private pension funds led Congress to enact the
________.
A) Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Act
B) Employee Retirement Income Security Act
C) Federal Reserve Act
D) Social Security Act
44) Keogh plans and IRAs are
A) individual pension plans.
B) government pension plans.
C) corporate pension plans.
D) public pension plans.
45) Private pension plan assets are invested mainly in ________.
A) government securities
B) corporate bonds
C) stock
D) certificates of deposit
46) Which of the following pensions does not promise employees a specific retirement benefit?
A) Defined-benefit plan
B) Defined-contribution plan
C) Overfunded plan
D) Underfunded plan
47) All insurance is subject to several basic principles, including all of the following except that
A) the insured must provide full and accurate information to the insurance company.
B) the insured is to profit as a result of insurance coverage.
C) the loss must be quantifiable.
D) there must be a relationship between the insured and the beneficiary.
48) A basic product of life insurance companies is ________.
A) disability insurance
B) annuities
C) health insurance
D) all of the above
49) ________ is an insurance product that will help if you live longer than you expect. For an
initial fixed sum or stream of payments, the insurance company agrees to pay you a fixed amount
for as long as you live.
A) Life insurance proper
B) Disability insurance
C) An annuity
D) Health insurance
50) The broad categories of life insurance products including which of the following?
A) Term
B) Whole life
C) Universal life
D) All of the above
51) Which life insurance policy usually requires the insured to pay a level premium for the
duration of the policy, and the overpayment accumulates as a cash value that can be borrowed by
the insured at reasonable rates?
A) Whole life
B) Term
C) Universal life
D) None of the above
52) What insurance protects against liability for harm the insured may cause to others as a result
of product failure or accidents?
A) Property insurance
B) Health insurance
C) Life insurance
D) Casualty insurance
53) A credit default swap, or CDS, is essentially
A) insurance against default on a financial instrument.
B) a method for swapping credit agreements between banks.
C) a method for companies in default to swap credit ratings.
D) insurance against the default of a party in a swap agreement.
54) During the global financial crisis, state and local governments now found their interest costs
rising. Which of the following were causes of this?
A) Lower tax revenues because of the weaker economy
B) Weaker value of monoline insurance guarantees on their debt
C) Both A and B
D) None of the above
55) Between 1995 and 2009, the amount of credit default swaps (CDSs) exploded, along with the
marketing of securitized mortgages. By their peak in 2008, there were about ________ of CDSs
outstanding.
A) $62 million
B) $62 billion
C) $6.2 trillion
D) $62 trillion
56) Which of the following is not what can we expect in the future regarding pension funds?
A) Pension funds will help create more stable financial markets.
B) Pension funds will continue their growth and popularity.
C) Pension fund variety will continue to expand.
D) Pension funds will gain increased control over corporations as they invest in the equity of
21.2 True/False
1) Adverse selection occurs when those most likely to get insurance payoffs are the ones who
want to purchase the insurance the most.
2) The fact that insurance companies charge young males higher automobile insurance premiums
than young females is an example of coinsurance.
3) When a life-long chain smoker attempts to purchase a life insurance policy, the insurance
company faces the problem of adverse selection.
4) The higher the insurance coverage, the more the policyholder can gain from risky activities
that make an insurance payoff less likely.
5) Vesting refers to the length of time that a person must be enrolled in a pension plan before
being entitled to receive benefits.
6) A defined-contribution plan promises employees a specific amount of retirement income.
7) The Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation performs a role similar to that of the Office of
Thrift Supervision.
8) Social Security is a “pay-as-you-go” system.
9) The Social Security system is an example of a pension plan that is fully funded.
10) Demographic trends and changes in retirement patterns suggest that Social Security funding
problems will ease over the next few decades.
11) A whole life insurance policy pays a death benefit if the policyholder dies.
12) Most private pension plans are insured by the Penny Benny, which pays benefits when a
plan’s sponsor goes bankrupt.
13) Property and casualty insurance protects against losses from fire, theft, storm, explosion, and
even neglect.
14) Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) shift the risk from the provider to the insurance
company.
15) Casualty insurance can be provided in either named-peril policies or open-peril policies.
16) A monoline insurance company is an insurance company which specialize in credit insurance
alone.
21.3 Essay
1) Who has the strongest incentive to monitor the performance of individual pension plans such
as Keoghs and IRAs? Explain.
2) Why do life insurance companies and pension plans invest heavily in long-term assets?
3) Why must insurance companies screen applicants so carefully?
4) Distinguish between different types of life insurance.
5) What are the major differences between life insurance and property and casualty insurance?
6) Why will Social Security funding problems rise in the coming decades? Identify and evaluate
the proposals that have been suggested to ease or reverse these problems.
7) Describe how insurance companies try to reduce adverse selection and moral hazards.
8) How did AIG, a trillion-dollar insurance giant, find itself on the brink of bankruptcy in 2008?
9) In the future, do the authors expect pension funds to continue to grow in popularity?