Completing my dissertation feels like a great achievement, which would not have been possible without the contribution of several people.
First, I would like to thank my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Hato Schmeiser, for his support and mentorship during the whole dissertation project: There has always been “an open door to his office” for invaluable and inspiring discussions. Thanks also to my co-supervisor, Prof. Dr. Peter Maas, for his thoughtful comments, and for adding an interdisciplinary, customer-focused perspective. I am especially grateful to Prof. Dr. Martin Eling, my co-author in three of the dissertation’s research papers, for introducing me into the basics of academic research and for fostering my interest in empirical work.
I would also like to thank the Institute of Insurance Economics, as an institution, for providing unparalleled working conditions with strong ties into academia and practice, but also as a community with a unique collegial spirit among the people who work there.
Special thanks go to my dear friends, Dr. Urs Arnold, Dr. Volker Bernhardt, Alexander Brändle, and Christoph Lüders, with whom I share many great moments from my time in St. Gallen.
Finally, this dissertation could not have been completed without the continual support of my parents, Gertrud and Paul, and my fiancée Carolin.