Description: This article addresses the growing need for critical illness insurance in the U.S. and the opportunities for insurance companies in this market. The article discusses product design both as stand-alone health insurance and accelerated benefits on life insurance policies, managing the risk through contract wording, and underwriting.

Description: In an effort to build a bridge between epidemiological and actuarial modeling, this paper analyzes possible financial arrangements made against expenses resulted from medical treatments given to insured patients. Based on classical compartment models, the first part of this paper designs insurance policies for susceptible participants facing the risk of infection and formulates the financial obligations of both parties using actuarial methodology. For practical purposes, the second part employs a variety of numerical methods for calculating premiums and reserves. The last part illustrates the methods by designing insurance products for the Great Plague in Eyam and the SARS Epidemic in Hong Kong.