Family changes and the demand for life insurance: evidence on CHFS data

Using China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) data from 2013–2019, this paper explores the relation between family changes and life insurance demand in a dynamic framework. We find that experiencing a divorce event is associated with 0.0459 and 9.2967 increases in the probability and volume of life insurance holding, and a 0.2904 increase in ratio of life insurance premium to income, respectively. Conversely, having a child is associated with decreases by 0.0366 and 7.9362 in the probability and volume of life insurance holding, and 0.2646 in the ratio of life insurance premium to income, respectively. Heterogeneity analysis reveals variations based on individuals' dependency ratios. We expand the research on factors influencing life insurance demand.