Complementary health insurance plays an increasing role in the French health care system. In this context, identifying individual preferences regarding complementary coverage is crucial to insurance companies as well as public authorities. This paper uses data provided by a major health insurance company and makes use of exogenous premium variations between regions to estimate the premium-related sensitivity of demand and its links with a set of health care supply features. Our results show that the insured’s budget constraint appears to be crucial in his coverage decision process. Therefore, any sudden premium increase may increase the uninsured population or reduce remaining coverage levels.
Classification JEL: C13, C25, D12, D81, I18.