Catastrophic Insurance Futures And Options
Definition of "Catastrophic insurance futures and options"
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.
Popular Insurance Terms
Endorsement to a property insurance policy providing all risks coverage for insured property. Excluded properties include residences, farms, and manufacturing properties. This endorsement ...
Act that provides new funding for the Bank Insurance Fund and enhances the safety and soundness of the financial system. The FDICIA includes the Foreign Bank Supervision Enhancement Act ...
Coverage of the employer for all employees on a blanket basis, with the maximum limit of coverage applied to any one loss without regard for the number of employees involved. Both ...
Insurance coverage that protects a company's and/or individual's assets against financial loss resulting from acts of confiscation, expropriation, or nationalization by a foreign ...
Annual report to policyholders of certain cash value life insurance products and annuities to inform them of the value of the investment portion of their contracts. Buyers of whole life ...
Contract sold by insurance companies that pays a monthly (quarterly, semiannual, or annual) income benefit for the life of a person (the annuitant). The annuitant can never outlive the ...
Process under which terminally ill people sell their life insurance policy for value thereby excluding the policy from being subject to the transfer for value under the three-year rule. ...
Reduction of private pension benefits to avoid "duplication" of Social Security benefits, according to a formula. Many pension plans "offset," or reduce, monthly pension benefits by a ...
Restriction on the benefit that owners and other highly compensated individuals may receive from a qualified pension or other employee benefits. The U.S. Tax Code requires that benefits ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.