Jane owns a house that is worth $100,000. She cares only about her wealth, which
consists entirely of the house. In any given year, there is a 20% chance that the
house will burn down. If it does, its scrap value will be $22,500. Jane’s utility
function of income is 1/2
( ) u W W=
.
a) b) c) d) Is Jane risk averse, risk neutral or a risk lover? Explain.
What is the expected monetary value of Jane’s uncertainty?
What is the maximum that Jane is willing to pay to completely insure her house
against being destroyed by the fire?
Say that Homer is the president of an insurance company. He is risk neutral and
has a utility function of the following type ( ) u W W= , where W is his wealth.
What is the lowest price at which he is willing to provide a fair insurance contract
(insurance premium equals expected loss) to completely insure Jane’s risk?