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
Method of classifying risks to establish equitable rates. In many property and liability insurance lines, the location of an insured has a significant impact on the loss experience. For ...
Circumstances in life insurance in which, although a minimum rate is guaranteed, a policyowner may earn additional (excess) interest, depending on the company's investment return. ...
Requiring assets and liabilities of an insurance company to go up or down together on a proportional basis. The duration of the asset and liability should be approximately the same. For ...
Condition that results from injury or disease that is not job related. Workers compensation applies to employees disabled by on-the-job injuries or disease. In addition, five states require ...
Computer system established by London trade associations for processing insurance policies. The work of LIMNET involves the notification and settlement of insurance policy claims. ...
Clause in a property insurance policy that requires the insurance coverage in that policy to be allocated in the proportion that it bears to the total insurance coverage in force from all ...
Bureau insurer that files its statistical and underwriting experience with a rating bureau. ...
Plan under which an employee authorizes his or her employer to deduct from each paycheck premiums due on an insurance plan. ...
Frequency of premium payment; for example annually, semiannually, quarterly, or monthly. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.