Effect of air pollution on household insurance purchases. Evidence from China household finance survey data

In recent years, the health and economic effects of air pollution have attracted considerable attention, and health and insurance services have been closely related to residents’ welfare. However, there are few studies on the influence of pollution on household purchases of insurance. Using data from the 2013 and 2015 China Household Finance Surveys, this study investigates the effect of air pollution on insurance purchases using Logit and Poisson regression models. It is found that air pollution significantly increases the probability of household insurance purchases and the level of premium expenditure, although the impact of air pollution on insurance purchases shows a degree of heterogeneity. Health insurance is more sensitive to air pollution than life insurance and other types of insurance. In areas where NO(2) and O(3) are the main types of pollutants, air pollution has a greater impact on household insurance purchases.