Definition of "Derivatives"

Seth Greenwell real estate agent

Written by

Seth Greenwellelite badge icon

Anchor Point Realty

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 futures are a simple derivative in that the cattle futures contract increases or decreases in value as future prices change for cows on the hoof. When insurance companies use derivatives, they are more likely to use them in association with currency and interest rate transactions as a means of protecting themselves against adverse moves in interest rates or foreign currency exchanges. This instrument provides a mechanism for hedging against the interest rate risks that are inherent within insurance products by pricing in that risk in advance and protecting against future negative occurrences.

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

Arrangement by an employer in which employees share in profits of the business. To be a qualified plan, a predetermined formula must be used to determine contributions to the plan and ...

Actual amount of total losses paid by an insurance company during a specified time interval. ...

Entitlement to pension benefits without a reduction, even though an employee is no longer in the service of an employer at retirement. For example, under the ten year vesting rule, an ...

Under Section 1035 of the Internal Revenue Code, stipulation that the exchange of one life insurance policy for another life insurance policy will generally not result in a recognized gain ...

Coverage for liability exposure resulting from the activities of a business; includes: direct liability acts of the business resulting in damage or destruction of another party's property ...

Association of life insurance companies focusing on legislation and public relations that may affect the life insurance business on federal, state, and local levels. Membership is composed ...

Method of accessing capital by the insurance industry in order to hedge against a future catastrophic occurrence. The mechanism works as follows: Primary insurance company AJAX pays a ...

Annuity contract. If the annuitant dies before receiving income at least equal to the premiums paid, a beneficiary receives the difference in installments. If the annuitant lives after the ...

Insurance policy that pays a face amount/ lump sum if the insured is diagnosed with a specified critical illness. This sum is paid directly to the insured regardless of any other sources of ...

Popular Insurance Questions