Unsafe insurance

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study life-loss risk in some life insurance policies and propose solution to the problem found.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper analyzes the expected payout for murder-for-insurance. It presents legal evidence of 179 court cases and conducts criminological analysis. It compares the lack of safety regulation in life insurance with regulatory actions in selected food and automobile safety cases.

Findings

Some life insurance policies create incentives and, therefore, temptation for murder-for-insurance. The insured can face life-loss risk from not only the beneficiary but also the life insurance agent during the term of the policy.

Practical implications

This paper proposes that defective life insurance policies should be recalled.

Social implications

The proposal has a policy implication of eliminating one type of homicide.

Originality/value

This paper is the first study of its kind, as it places the safety of the insurance consumer in the center.

Citation

Dalko, V. (2017), "Unsafe insurance", Journal of Financial Crime, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 643-655. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-01-2016-0006