Jean Lemaire

Harry J. Loman Professor Emeritus of Insurance and Risk Management
Professor Emeritus of Statistics
Professor Emeritus of Actuarial Science
Professor Emeritus of Business Economics and Public Policy

Contact Information

Primary Email:
lemaire@wharton.upenn.edu
Office Phone:
(215) 898-7765

Research Interests: evaluation of adverse selection in insurance markets due to genetic testing, merit-rating systems in automobile insurance, the impact of firearm deaths on life expectancies in the united states

Links: CV

Overview

Education

BS, Applied Mathematics, 1969, Summa Cum Laude, Université Libre de Bruxelles (U.L.B.)
Teaching Certificate, 1969, Summa Cum Laude, U.L.B.
MS, Actuarial Science, 1972, Summa Cum Laude, U.L.B.
Operations Research Certificate, 1972, U.L.B.
Ph.D., Mathematics, 1973, Summa Cum Laude, U.L.B.
Associate, Society of Actuaries, 1997

Jean Lemaire is the Harry J. Loman Professor of Insurance and Risk Management at the Wharton School. He holds a BS in mathematics, a MS in actuarial science, and a Ph.D. in applied mathematics, all obtained at the Free University of Brussels. He joined the Wharton School in 1987 as Director of the Actuarial Science Program.

Jean Lemaire has published over 100 research papers and books in game theory and actuarial science. He has lectured on insurance regulation and actuarial science in over 60 countries. His 1985 book “Automobile Insurance: Actuarial Models” was the insurance book-of-the-year both in Europe and in the US. His books have been translated in French, Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, Japanese, and Korean.

Jean Lemaire is a winner of the 1988 International Prize of the Italian Academy of Science, the most important prize awarded to insurance researchers in terms of amount and prestige. In 2008 he was elected Honorary Chairman of ASTIN, the non-life section of the International Actuarial Association, and received the Wharton School’s Hauck Award for excellence in teaching. His current research interests include the study of merit-rating systems in automobile insurance, the impact of genetic testing on insurance, and the consequences of gun violence.

Research

Jean Lemaire, Sojung C. Park, Kili Wang (2016), Further Comments on the Paper “Setting a Bonus–Malus Scale in the Presence of Other Rating Factors” by Taylor, European Actuarial Journal, 6 (2), pp. 495-499.
Sojung Carol Park, Jean Lemaire, Xiaoying Xie (2016), The Opaqueness of Structured Bonds: Evidence from the U.S. Insurance Industry, The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, 41 (4), pp. 650-676.
Jean Lemaire, Sojung Carol Park, Kili C. Wang (2016), The Use of Annual Mileage as a Rating Variable, ASTIN Bulletin, 46 (1), pp. 39-69.
Jean Lemaire, Sojung Carol Park, Kili C. Wang (2015), The Impact of Covariates on a Bonus–Malus System: An Application of Taylor’s Model, European Actuarial Journal, 5 (1), pp. 1-10.
Jean Lemaire (2014), Issues in Bonus-Malus Systems Design, The Journal of Risk Management, 25, pp. 1-22.
Joelle Fong, Jean Lemaire, Yiu Kuen Tse (2014), Improving Money’s Worth Ratio Calculations: The Case of Singapore’s Pension Annuities, Asia-Pacific Journal of Risk and Insurance, 8 (1), pp. 1-26.
Abstract: This paper contributes to a better understanding of the risks involved in a life annuity investment. We study the full distribution of weighted annuity benefits and quantify risk measures such as dispersion and skewness, thereby extending the usefulness of the popular money’s worth valuation framework for life annuities. Using data from pension annuities in Singapore, we also introduce several risk measures that might appeal to less financially sophisticated retirees. A more detailed and accurate picture of the risk of investing in life annuities emerges, enabling prospective annuitants to differentiate among products that may appear seemingly uniform in terms of money’s worth, but vary widely in terms of their risk attributes.
Sojung Carol Park and Jean Lemaire (2012), The Impact of Culture on the Demand for Non-Life Insurance, ASTIN Bulletin, 42 (2), pp. 501-527.
S. Park, Jean Lemaire, Chua, C.T. (2010), Is the Design of Bonus-Malus Systems Influenced by Insurance Maturity or National Culture – Evidence from Asia, Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance: Issues and Practice, 35.
T. Richmond and Jean Lemaire (2008), Years of Life Lost due to Gunshot Injury to the Spinal Cord and Brain, American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 87, pp. 609-618.
J Weiner, D.J. Wiebe, T. Richmond, K Beam, A Berman, Charles Branas, R Cheney, T. Coyne-Beasley, J. Firman, M. Fishbein, S. Hargarten, D. Hemenway, R Jeffcoat, D. Kennedy, C.S. Koper, Jean Lemaire, M. Miller, JA Roth, C.W. Schwab, R Spitzer, S. Teret, J. Vernick, D. Webster (2007), Reducing Firearm Violence: A Research Agenda, Injury Prevention, 13, pp. 80-84.

Awards and Honors

Wharton Undergraduate Excellence in Teaching Award, 2012
Wharton Undergraduate Excellence in Teaching Award, 2011
Wharton Undergraduate Excellence in Teaching Award, 2008
Wharton Hauck Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Tenured Faculty Member, 2008
Elected honorary Chairman of ASTIN, 2008
Wharton Undergraduate Excellence in Teaching Award, 2007
Wharton Undergraduate Excellence in Teaching Award, 2006
Wharton Undergraduate Excellence in Teaching Award, 2004
Elected Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, 2001
Best feature paper award, Journal of Risk and Insurance, 2000
Clarence Arthur Kulp Memorial Award, American Risk and Insurance Association, 1997
International INA-Lincei Prize, Italian Academy of Sciences, 1988
Clarence Arthur Kulp Memorial Award, American Risk and Insurance Association, 1987
Ernst Meyer Prize, Geneva Association, 1986

Activity

Latest Research

Jean Lemaire, Sojung C. Park, Kili Wang (2016), Further Comments on the Paper “Setting a Bonus–Malus Scale in the Presence of Other Rating Factors” by Taylor, European Actuarial Journal, 6 (2), pp. 495-499.

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In the News

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Knowledge at Wharton - 11/9/2017

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Jean Lemaire

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STAT3990 - Independent Study

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