What We Know about Research on Life Insurance Lapse: A Bibliometric Analysis

A lapsed policy is an insurance policy that has become inactive due to non-payment of premiums. The word “lapse” is an insurance topic that constantly evolves, proven by the recent increase in publications on this topic. The study explores the life insurance lapse decision through a comprehensive bibliometric analysis throughout the years, concentrating on publication trends; co-authorship networks among countries, authors, and scientific journals; and the field’s evolution. The research is based on the Scopus database. Ultimately, 178 documents were retrieved and analysed, demonstrating increased literature on insurance lapse from 1971 to 2021. The authors’ keyword co-occurrence network was also analysed for possible future directions of the field. Journals originating from the United Kingdom dominate the publication on life insurance lapsation. In contrast, an author from the United States is at the first rank in terms of the co-authorship network’s total link strength. The results may help researchers define the research objective and determine the aspects of the life insurance lapse for future research.