Underwriting Cycle
Tendency of property and liability insurance premiums, insurers' profits, and availability of coverage to rise and fall with some regularity over time. A cycle can be said to begin when insurers tighten their underwriting standards and sharply raise premiums after a period of severe underwriting losses. Stricter standards and higher premium rates often bring dramatic increases in profits, attracting more capital to the insurance industry and raising underwriting capacity. On the other hand, as insurers strive to write more premiums at higher levels of profitability, premium rates may be driven down and underwriting standards relaxed in the competition for new business. Profits may erode and then turn into losses if more tax underwriting standards generate mounting claims. The stage would then be set for the cycle to begin again.
Popular Insurance Terms
Annuity modified joint life and survivorship annuity under which the income payments are reduced to one-half or two-thirds of the initial income amounts upon the death of the first ...
Determination that investments by parents in their children's education through the purchase of Series EE Savings Bonds, which generate interest income, are tax-exempt if the proceeds are ...
Coverage required by the laws of a particular state. For example, many states stipulate minimum amounts of automobile liability insurance that must be carried. ...
Life insurance accounting method that does not require any terminal reserve for a policy at the end of the first year. First-year policy acquisition expenses, such as agent commission, ...
Expenses that have or may not yet have been paid by an insurance company. ...
The term pro rata comes from Latin and translates to in proportion, proportionally, the proportion of, proportionately determined, or according to a specific rate. It is often used in legal ...
Federal statute relating to drug abuse policies that requires all employers with federal contracts at least equal to $25,000 to certify, as a condition of receiving a federal contract, that ...
1961 federal legislation that allows the U.S. Export-Import Bank to set up insurance protection for U.S. exporters against credit risk and political risk in order to help make U.S. exports ...
Expense listed on the Income and Expenditure accounting statement for the unexpired insurance policy owned. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.