Derivatives
Definition of "Derivatives"
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.
Popular Insurance Terms
Section of the Internal Revenue Code that provides for the taking of the proceeds from one life insurance policy or annuity and the reinvesting of these proceeds immediately in another life ...
Property to be insured, or that is insured, which is located within the specific geographical region falling under the auspices of the fire department. ...
Interest rate credited on three-month United States Treasury bills. ...
Common element in property insurance that excludes electrical damage or destruction of an appliance unless the damage is caused by a resultant fire. ...
Life insurance policy option under which the dividends that have accrued may be applied to mature the policy as endowment insurance. ...
Same as term: engineering approach; human approach ...
Variable-rate bonds whose coupon and value increases as interest rates decrease. ...
worth of each accumulation unit at the end of each valuation period for a variable annuity. This value is similar to that of the net asset value for a mutual fund. ...
First historical mortality table used for the calculation of premium rates for group annuities. This table was subsequently replaced by the group annuity table, 1971. ...
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