Catastrophic Insurance Futures And Options

Definition of "Catastrophic insurance futures and options"

Nelson Montanez  real estate agent

Written by

Nelson Montanez elite badge icon

Brass Moon Realty

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.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

Same as term Dynamic: changing state of the economy associated with changes in human wants and desires such that losses or gains occur. Dynamic changes are not insurable. ...

Funding of an employee's benefits in a pension plan for his or her beginning past service of employment. This is a significant cost factor in pension planning and financing of future ...

Type of guaranteed investment contract in which the interest rate credited is tied to an external index such as the United States Treasury Bond Index. ...

Policy used to provide the funds for buy and sell agreements under which an income payment or a series of income payments is paid to the buyer of the disabled partner's interest contained ...

State law that limits the admitted value of an insurance company's EDP equipment to 3% of the company's ADJUSTED SURPLUS. ...

Unfunded trust that acts as the owner of a life insurance policy. The trust receives a donor's cash payments on a periodic basis, from which the beneficiary of the trust has a specified ...

Specified amount received by an insured at the end of an endowment period (usually the face amount of the endowment policy), or by the owner of an ordinary life policy (usually the ...

Explicit liability reserve, required by the national association of insurance commissioners (naic), established for all invested asset classes. Specific reserves are established for real ...

Bonds that are less than investment grade plus the bonds that are in or approaching default, which comprise part of the insurance company's investment bond portfolio. ...

Popular Insurance Questions