Catastrophic Insurance Futures And Options
First exchange-traded risk management tool specifically developed for the insurance industry by the Chicago Board of Trade as a way for the primary insurance company to offset its underwriting exposures. See also futures tied to reinsurance. These contracts are designed to provide the insurance company with a hedge against underwriting losses resulting from catastrophic occurrences. The futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a commodity or financial instrument at a set price on a given date. The option permits the owner to decide whether or not to exercise the option to buy or sell the commodity or financial instrument by the stipulated exercise date. The insurance option trading is based on the loss ratio concept (losses incurred over a stipulated time period divided by premiums earned over the same time period). For example, assume an insurance company buys an option on the loss ratio that will fall within the range of 50% to 70%. Should losses fall within that range, the insurance company would then exercise the option and sell the contract, thereby enabling the company to make a profit on the option. This profit could then be used by the company to offset losses. Should the loss portion not fall within the 50% to 70% range, the option would expire at zero value.
Popular Insurance Terms
Fund in a segregated account to provide for the return of unearned premiums on policies that are canceled. ...
Evidence of a temporary contract obliging a life or health insurance company to provide coverage as long as a premium accompanies an acceptable application. This gives the company time to ...
Means of setting life insurance reserves based on expected mortality rates as reflected in a mortality table. ...
Systems composed of personal computers linked by a file server. These computers share software as well as databases that enable the risk manager access to information in a quick and ...
Case where an insurance company is placed by the state court under the control of the state insurance department. Claims are paid in the order filed until the insurance company's ability to ...
Transportation firm that must carry any customer's goods if the customer is willing to pay. Common carriers include trucking companies, bus lines, and airlines. ...
Same as term Corridor Deductible: type of major medical deductible amount that acts as a corridor between benefits under a basic health insurance plan and benefits under a major medical ...
Financial holdings that can be converted into cash in a timely manner without the loss of principal, such as U.S. Treasury Bills. Liquidity of assets is one of the most important principles ...
Money paid through state and federal programs to workers who are temporarily unemployed. The program, which was created by the social security act of 1935, is managed by the individual ...

Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.