Mortality protection in the Maltese Islands

Abstract

The main objective of this dissertation is to determine the main causes of death claims under a life insurance portfolio and establish whether these causes of death reflect the Maltese population deaths. Moreover this study presents an insight of the Maltese Protection Gap. The method used to measure any mortality differences was by reviewing the demographic review reports and compare the findings with the data of MSV portfolio. In order to be able to analyze the Maltese Protection Gap, a questionnaire was conducted with 303 respondents. The findings show that the main causes of death of the Maltese population differ from MSV portfolio. Deaths due to circulatory diseases are the main causes of death of the Maltese Population, followed by neoplasms and respiratory diseases. In contrast neoplasms are the main causes of death experienced by MSV portfolio followed by circulatory diseases and external causes. Furthermore from this study it emerged that most of the respondents are either uninsured or inadequately insured. The majority of the respondents who said that their dependents might or would struggle if they die early do not owe a life policy. The main purpose of those who own a life policy is because they were required to do so for loan protection. Additionally, trust in life insurance companies appeared to be the main reason for not buying a life policy. This study should help insurance buyers to understand the reason behind the request to perform medical tests prior to buying a life insurance policy, that is at proposal stage and to be more aware of the importance of an adequate insurance in one's life.