Health Insurance Futures
Definition of "Health insurance futures"
One-year futures contract (standardized agreement between two parties to buy or sell a commodity or financial instrument on an organized futures exchange such as the CBOT within some future time period at a present stipulated price), traded at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), which would allow health insurance companies and self-insured employers to hedge their losses. The essential design of this contract is such that when actual claims exceed expected claims by amount "X," the futures contract would increase by the same amount "X." The financial instrument that forms the basis of this futures contract is an index that reflects the claims experience of ten health insurance companies. By buying futures contracts that will appreciate in the future as claims increase in the future, insurance companies and self-insured employers can profit from increasing futures prices through which they can offset their losses. Accordingly, by selling futures contracts that will decline in the future, these organizations can profit from decreasing futures prices that can be used to offset smaller cash flow. For example, if a health insurance company buys a futures contract for $40,000 and then sells it for $50,000, the company will recognize a profit of $10,000, which can be used to pay the higher than expected claims incurred. The cost effectiveness of hedging through the buying and selling of futures contracts depends on high correlations between expected claims payments and the futures contracts prices. If there is a low correlation between expected claims payments and the futures contracts prices, the less cost effective the hedge becomes. Thus, it is critical for the insurance company or the self-insured employer to establish the correlation between its block of business and the health insurance futures index.
Popular Insurance Terms
Investment risk associated with the psychology of the market in that emotions affect the price of a company's stock that, in most instances, has nothing to do with the current or potential ...
Situation where a stock insurer must invade its capital account in order to meet its obligations. Most states do not allow insurers to do this and quickly rescind their right to do business. ...
Transaction by a tax-exempt organization with a person from inside the organization (disqualified person) that provides an economic benefit to that person that is in excess of the value of ...
Private, not-for-profit-group that develops and publishes safety codes and standards relating to protection of people and property against fire. The NFPA is financed by fees for technical ...
Life insurance policy under which its face value is payable only if the insured survives to the end of the stated endowment period; no benefit is paid if the insured dies during the ...
Insurance company's total investments in financial securities. ...
Written statements on a form by a prospective insured about himself, including assets and other personal information. These statements and additional information, such as a medical report, ...
Financial analysis method established by the national association of insurance commissioners (naic) to detect problems of property and casualty insurance companies and life and health ...
Term referring to the most common charge, in health insurance, for a service. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.