Catastrophic Insurance Futures And Options

Definition of "Catastrophic insurance futures and options"

Nelson Montanez  real estate agent

Written by

Nelson Montanez elite badge icon

Brass Moon Realty

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.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

Person, business, or organization specified as the insured (s) in a property or liability insurance policy. In some instances, the policy provides broader coverage to persons other than ...

No limitation under a contributory pension plan of an employee's right to receive vested benefits, regardless of whether or not the employer withdraws contributions. ...

Endorsement to a fidelity bond or surety bond to cover losses that occurred after lapse of the discovery period of the previous bond. Coverage is limited to the amount provided by the ...

Death caused by a person without legal justification. Wrongful death may be the result of negligence, such as when a drunken driver hits and kills someone; or it may be intentional, as when ...

Same as term Calendar Year Experience: paid loss experience for the period of time from January 1 to December 31 of a specified year (not necessarily the current year). ...

Arrangement by which an employee can retire and receive full benefits without reduction, or reduced benefits subject to a penalty. These ages can be classified in the following manner: ...

Trust established under the Internal Revenue Service code that is used to provide accident and sickness benefits to member employees. ...

Additions made by Congress in 1978 to the Internal Revenue Code that provide an employee benefit plan under which the employee makes an irrevocable decision to forego a portion of future ...

Insurance company that has no outstanding shares of stock, such as a mutual insurance company. ...

Popular Insurance Questions