Insurance Futures
Futures contracts (legally binding contract that stipulates that delivery of an asset will be taken or delivery of an asset will be made at a future time at an agreed upon price at the current moment) on insurance lines to include catastrophic insurance futures, automobile insurance futures, homeowners insurance futures, and so forth, traded on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Traditionally, precious metals such as gold and silver; agriculture commodities such as cattle, corn, and soy beans; and United States Treasury issues such as bonds and bills, have all been traded on the CBOT. The aim of the transaction with these futures is to cancel the contract with a gain before the delivery of the commodity. (Who would want cattle delivered to their house?) On the other hand, the insurance futures contract concerns itself with the dollar value the market attaches to an index. In turn, this index is an expectation of how much of the premium income generated by a particular line of insurance will have to be allocated to pay off incurred losses. For example, if the automobile insurance line generates an income of $5,000,000 and the market has an expectation that 90% of that income will have to be allocated to paying off incurred losses, the market will value that futures contract at a price somewhat less than $450,000. This is because of such factors that have to be accounted for as incurred but not reported losses (IBNR).
Popular Insurance Terms
Excess funds above the amount required to establish legal reserves for the policies in force. These excess funds are generated as the result of mortality savings, excess interest earned on ...
Cash value of life insurance that accumulates according to a table in a policy. It reflects premiums in the early years that exceed the pure cost of protection during that period. If a ...
Legislation that raised taxes on life insurers and further defined life insurance. Because the tax equity and financial responsibility act of 1982 and 1983 (TEFRA) failed to raise the ...
Group whole life insurance policy designed to reduce an employee's exposure to income tax on the value of life insurance provided by the employer. The policy separates the term element from ...
Retirement plan under which benefits are fixed in advance by formula, and contributions vary. The defined benefit plan can be expressed in either of two ways: Fixed Dollars: Unit benefit ...
Premium that remains unchanged over time, regardless of any change in the nature of the risk. ...
Annuity that begins payments after a single premium is paid. For example, the annuitant pays a single premium of $100,000 on June 1 of the current year and begins receiving a monthly income ...
Insurance company that does not utilize the rates and policies of a rating bureau. ...
Coverage usually written as an endorsement to property policies such as the Standard Fire Policy. A loss must be by the intentional acts of vandals. This peril is of particular importance ...
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