This study assesses the feasability of insurance companies to offer incentives, in the form of premium reductions or additional benefits, which would be effective in increasing safety belt usage. The insurance types considered in this report are auto, health, life, and workers' compensation. The research findings on auto insurance, workers' compensation, and life insurance rely on discussions with about 20 insurance firms. The health insurance industry findings rely on contacts with industry associations, including the Health Insurance Association of America, and, in particular, the Group Health Associaton of America. This report concludes that: (a) the best prospect for insurance incentives to influence safety belt usage lies with efforts by employers to achieve extra insurance benefits or premium reductions as supplements to other strong employer safety belt efforts; (b) insurers have a substantial financial incentive in attracting customers who wear safety belts but precise estimates of these savings need to be developed with actual insurance claim data; and (c) it is unlikely that any insurance company will offer substantial up-front incentives for those who claim to be belt wearers because there are serious problems with trusting the insureds to wear belts and with denying payments to insureds who are injured while not wearing belts.
Samenvatting