Rate Making
Process of calculating a premium so that it is adequate-sufficient to pay losses according to expected frequency and severity, thereby safeguarding against the insurance company becoming insolvent; reasonable-the insurance company should not be able to earn an excessive profit; and not unfairly discriminatory or inequitable. Theoretically, it can be said that each insurance applicant should pay a unique premium to reflect a different expectation of loss, but this would be impractical. Instead, classifications are established for applicants to be grouped according to similar expectation of loss. Statistical studies of a large number of nearly homogeneous exposures in each underwriting classification enable the projection of losses after adjustments for future inflation and statistical irregularities. The adjusted statistics are used to calculate the pure cost of protection, or pure premium, to which the insurance company adds on loads for agent commissions, premium taxes, administrative expenses, contingency reserves, other acquisition costs, and profit margin. The result is the gross premium to be charged to the insured.
Popular Insurance Terms
Annual contributions to a pension plan that exceed or are smaller than the minimum required for future employee benefits currently being earned; and any supplemental liability for past ...
Combination of the funds of many policyholders held in a single account and invested as a single entity. ...
Contractual rights to a stipulated percentage of the increase in the value of an insurance agency over a given future period of time. They are used to convey a percentage of the increase in ...
Securities that derive their value from other financial instruments that are used by the insurance company to hedge its bets on which direction the market is moving. For example, cattle ...
Cash carried forward from the previous year, plus gains from operations for the current year, plus any capital gains. ...
Central (main) office of an insurance company whose facilities usually include actuarial, claims, investment, legal, underwriting, agency, and marketing departments. ...
Type of guaranteed insurance contract in which the term is fixed, the rate is fixed, and the contract owner does not participate in the insurance company's earnings. ...
Time at which life insurance death proceeds or endowments are paid, either at the death of an insured or at the end of the endowment period. ...
Method of selling insurance in which the insured purchases the product directly from the insurance company and not through an agent. ...
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