SFS Cavalcade North America 2026
Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia
May 18-21, 2026
Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
Please note that all times are shown in the time zone of the conference. The current conference time is: 18th Apr 2026, 05:19:23am EDT
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Agenda Overview |
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Track T2-6: Real Assets, Insurance, and Real Estate
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Going for Broker? Intermediation in Health Insurance Markets 1Department of Economics, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities; 2Sloan School of Management, MIT; 3Department of Economics, DePaul University; 4Carey School of Business, Johns Hopkins University This paper studies how insurance brokers affect product choices, premiums, and welfare in the employer-sponsored insurance market. We compile a novel database of contracting relationships among employers, brokers, and insurers in New York State. Exploiting variations in commission schedules, we document two market distortions: First, brokers exhibit traditional agency frictions, steering employers towards more financially lucrative products. Second, commission levels affect ex-ante insurer-broker networks and, in turn, insurers' competitive pressure, leading to anti-competitive distortions. We develop and estimate a structural model of employer insurance demand, insurer pricing, and formation of broker-insurer contracting networks. We use the model to quantify the steering-competition tradeoff: higher commissions exacerbate steering but may also broaden broker networks, increase insurer competition, and lower premiums. We also explore optimal commission and network regulations for insurance brokers.
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